FY 2023 Appropriations Package Misses The Mark On Water Resiliency

Over the past three years, the WateReuse Association led an advocacy campaign to authorize and fund the first-ever nationwide water recycling program—the Pilot Program for Alternative Water Source Grants. Heading into final negotiations on the FY 2023 omnibus appropriations package, both the House-passed minibus and the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations bill included start-up funding for the program. Unfortunately, the final negotiated package released today excludes this funding, missing a critical opportunity to help communities around the country build water resiliency and develop sustainable supplies.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 40 U.S. states experienced moderate drought or worse in 2022. Droughts brought wildfires, heat waves, severely depleted water sources, and reduced crop production across the entire United States. In the West, conditions reached their driest point in 1,200 years; and in parts of Pennsylvania, Illinois, New England, and other regions across the country, communities faced significant and even extreme drought conditions.

“Despite growing water quality and water supply challenges around the country, Congress has chosen to reverse course on what would have become the first nationwide program dedicated to developing sustainable alternative water sources,” said Patricia Sinicropi, WateReuse Association’s Executive Director. “We appreciate the inclusion of funding for long-standing and successful programs such as the Title XVI Water Reuse Grants Program, State Revolving Fund programs, and WIFIA; however, to meet growing water quality and supply challenges, Congress must invest more deliberately in programs dedicated to helping communities across the country build long-term water resiliency.”

Congress authorized the Pilot Program for Alternative Water Source Grants as part of the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA). Through the program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would provide competitive grants to state, interstate, and intrastate water resource development agencies to engineer, design, construct, and test alternative water source systems, including water recycling systems.

Investments in water recycling ensure reliable and resilient community water supplies, support sustainable economic development, and help protect our rivers, lakes, streams, aquifers, and wetlands. By investing in federal water recycling programs now, Congress can give communities in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico the tools and resources they need to prepare for and manage the impacts of the climate crisis, including drought, aquifer depletion, flooding, and land subsidence.