October 23, 2023

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have until November 17 to settle the differences between their FY 2024 appropriations legislation. The House version provides start-up funding for the Pilot Program for Alternative Water Source Grants, while the Senate counterpart provides no funding for the program. Other WateReuse Association priorities are funded at the same or very similar levels across both the House and Senate versions of the legislation—this includes the Bureau of Reclamation’s Title XVI Water Reuse Grants Program and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) Program, among others. These programs are in a strong position as Congress negotiates funding levels. If funded, the Pilot Program for Alternative Water Source Grants would become the first nationwide program dedicated to advancing water reuse and other alternative water source systems. Competitive grants would be available to state, interstate, and intrastate water resource development agencies to engineer, design, construct, and test alternative water source systems, including water reuse systems. To learn more about how to act today to help secure this funding, read our recent action alert.

Prompted by the passing of former Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), several members of the U.S. Senate have taken on new roles on committees that have jurisdiction over water recycling programs and funding. First, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) vacated his position on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee to assume former Senator Feinstein’s seat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) in turn filled Senator Kelly’s spot on the ENR Committee. The ENR Committee has jurisdiction over the Bureau of Reclamation and its programs, including the Title XVI Water Reuse Grants Program and the Large-Scale Water Recycling Projects Grants Program. In the coming years, the competitive grants portion of Title XVI (known as Title XVI-WIIN) will need to be reauthorized. Similarly, Congress will need to authorize discretionary appropriations for the Large-Scale Water Recycling Grants Program. The ENR Committee will play a major role in deciding whether these policy changes move forward. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) assumed the position vacated by Senator Feinstein on the Senate Appropriations Committee, though she did not take over as Chair of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over Bureau of Reclamation funding; instead, Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) will fill the Subcommittee leadership role on an interim basis.

October 26, 2023
12 pm PT | 3pm ET
This webcast is presented by The Water Research Foundation and is free and open to the public.

Despite continuing development and increased recognition of recycled water’s importance within water resources management, the volume of recycled water recorded in California has been well under the goal of 1.5 million ac-ft set in the 1980s. Project 4962, Identifying the Amount of Wastewater That Is Available and Feasible to Recycle in California, was conducted to understand the amount of recycled water potentially available for beneficial uses and to inform the development of realistic recycled water goals.

November 8, 2023
7 am PT | 10:00 am ET

Join the United States Department of Agriculture’s International Climate Hub for a webinar showcasing innovative approaches to addressing water scarcity in agriculture worldwide including water reuse and water conservation techniques. The webcast is moderated by Dr. Peter McCornick of the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute and presented in collaboration with the FAO Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture.