NEWARK, NJ — Newark officially has at least one reason to thank President Donald Trump.

On Friday, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker announced that Trump has signed S-1689, also known as "The Water Infrastructure Funding Transfer Act." The new federal law will free up to $100 million to help Newark solve its ongoing battle against lead water contamination. Specifically, the law gives states facing a "threat to public health from lead in drinking water" the flexibility to make a one-time transfer of the federal funds in their Clean Water State Revolving Fund to their Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.

It now means that millions of federal dollars will be available to help New Jersey communities battle for clean water, including Booker's hometown of Newark. New Jersey would be able to transfer up to $100 million in federal funds to help ease the financial impact of a massive effort to replace lead service pipes in 18,000 Newark homes, the suspected culprit behind the city's water woes.

Normally, replacing lead service lines can be an expensive process, with the average cost of replacement ranging between $4,000 and $10,000. Recently, the project got a major boost when Essex County helped the city to obtain $120 million in loans to pay for the job. That funding influx will turbocharge the effort, which is now expected to take up to 30 months instead of a decade. The money will also help residents replace the lead service lines in their homes at no cost, city officials said. See related article: Newark Replacing Lead Pipes In Homes; 800 Done, 17000 To Go Newark officials said that a portion of the loans will be repaid with funds from a reworked lease agreement with the Port Authority of NY/NJ, which will bring $155 million to the city.

If Newark gets a new funding influx from the Water Infrastructure Funding Transfer Act, the funds will be another big breath of relief for local taxpayers.

"Every day, children and families are facing the realities of our country's aging infrastructure and worrying about the safety of their drinking water," Booker said, lauding the passage of the bill, which fellow Democrat Sen. Robert Menendez also sponsored.