September 17, 2025

The U.S. House of Representatives is preparing to vote on a continuing resolution (CR) by Friday to extend FY 2025 funding levels through November 20 while it works to negotiate final FY 2026 appropriations legislation. The CR will extend existing funding levels for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Bureau of Reclamation, and the programs that they administer. WateReuse has been working to secure increased investments for key water reuse grant programs in FY 2026 and to defeat proposed cuts to critical EPA loan programs.  

The House FY 2026 Energy and Water Development (EWD) Appropriations bill meets the WateReuse Association’s requests for Bureau of Reclamation programs. This includes a 37 percent increase in funding for the Title XVI Water Reuse Grants Program, an extension of the program’s authorization, and an increase in the authorized funding amount for the program. The Senate EWD Appropriations bill has not yet been released. The House FY 2026 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill meets our request of $5 million for the Pilot Program for Alternative Water Source Grants but makes significant cuts to the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) Programs. The Senate version of the bill preserves SRF funding but excludes funding for the Alternative Water Source Grants Pilot Program.  

To help ensure that final FY 2026 appropriations legislation includes robust funding for key water reuse programs, reach out to WateReuse Policy Director, Greg Fogel, at gfogel@watereuse.org. We have between now and November 20 to make a difference.  

In response to its inability to overcome opposition to many Presidential nominees in recent weeks, the U.S. Senate Majority modified confirmation rules to allow it to confirm nominees by a simple majority vote rather than having to reach a 60-vote threshold. The rule change will not apply to judicial nominees nor to cabinet-level nominees. Following the rule change, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) published the list of nominees to be voted upon this week, including Jess Kramer to become Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). WateReuse has supported Ms. Kramer’s nomination and looks forward to working with her in her new role. Ms. Kramer received bipartisan support in Committee and is expected to be confirmed when her nomination comes before the full Senate. Meanwhile, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has not yet scheduled a confirmation hearing for Ted Cooke, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Reclamation. 

The U.S. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has released the Spring 2025 Unified Agenda, which outlines new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rulemakings that will impact WateReuse Association members. 

Our latest blog post breaks down the comprehensive list of these rulemakings, providing essential updates on PFAS, Waters of the United States, NPDES, and other water reuse-related regulations. 

WateReuse will continue to track these developments and keep you informed. 
 

WateReuse Pacific Northwest (WR-PNW) partnered once again with the annual Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association conference to present water reuse programming to a record-breaking audience in Portland, Oregon. The conference took place this week and is wrapping up today with a tour of WateReuse member Clean Water Services’ Durham Water Resource Recovery Facility and Thomas Dairy ecological restoration site. 

WR-PNW President Royce Davis (Jacobs) helped welcome over 1,400 attendees to Portland on Monday with a presentation asking “where are you on your water reuse journey?” On Tuesday, WR-PNW held a full-day track with sessions focusing on topics including water reuse 101, data center cooling, and new regulatory approaches to reuse in Pacific Northwest states.  

Kevin Cassidy, CEO of WateReuse member Newterra, penned an article this month in Smart Water Magazine outlining the benefits of onsite reuse for businesses to mitigate impacts related to water scarcity and climate change. Cassidy outlines two recent Newterra projects – an onsite reuse system for a potato processing facility in Canada and a custom membrane bioreactor system for a lifestyle community in Texas. Newterra delivered a custom membrane bioreactor system for the potato processing plant allowing over 97.5% of processed wastewater to be recovered and reused. The company is also working on a modular solution for the lifestyle community that will recycle 120,000 gallons per day. 

Contact us at info@watereuse.org