Should the EPA Provide Grants for Adapting Water Systems to Changing Hydrologic Conditions? (S. 741)

What is S. 741?

(Updated March 15, 2018)

This bill would direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create and implement a program to be known as the “Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Program.”

The program would award grants from 2015 through 2019 to non-federal owners or operators of water systems in order to increase the system’s resilience and adaptability to changes in the hydrologic condition of its geographic region.

Basically, it would help fund improvements to protect water systems from droughts that reduce the amount of water in a region, and heavy rainfall or sudden snow melt that increase regional water levels. Some of the water systems that could receive grants through this program are:

• Community water systems.

• Treatment plants or sewer systems.

• Groundwater storage and replenishment systems.

• Systems that transport water for irrigation or conservation.

• A natural or engineered system that manages floodwater - like a dam or levee.

Applications by water system owners or operators would include a planning, implementation, or maintenance proposal, which would include data demonstrating the risk posed to water resources or infrastructure by hydrologic change. They would describe how the proposal would enhance the resiliency and efficiency of the water system, and how it applies within a local climate adaptation plan.

Water systems that are at the greatest and most immediate risk would be given priority by the Administrator. The Administrator would also give preference to proposals that use innovative approaches to improve water use, conservation, or quality.

Argument in favor

Water resources are scarce in some parts of the country, and this program would help conserve water while improving the ability of water systems to respond to shortages or floods.

Argument opposed

This program would be soliciting proposals from a broad spectrum of projects and it is unclear whether the funding for this program would come out of the EPA’s existing budget or elsewhere.

Impact

Water system owners and operators, the EPA, the Administrator of the EPA.

Cost of S. 741

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Water system owners or operators could only use the grant money on projects that:

• Conserve water or improve efficiency through electronic sensing and control systems;

• Modify or relocate infrastructure that may be impaired by changing hydrologic conditions;

• Preserve or improve water quality by managing, treating, or reusing city stormwater, wastewater, or drinking water;

• Research, design, or build groundwater remediation, recycled water, or desalination facilities;

• Enhance water management through watershed preservation and protection;

• Improve energy efficiency or generating renewable energy through the transfer or treatment of water - including stormwater or wastewater;

• Replace or build systems used for agriculture to promote conservation or improve efficiency;

• Support practices and projects that reuse or recycle water to improve water quality and efficient water use in agriculture;

• Reduce flood damage, risk, and vulnerability by restoring floodplains and wetlands, modifying levees, or promotes land use planning to avoid floodplain development.

The federal government’s share of the cost would not exceed 50 percent, so the owner or operator of the water system receiving the grant must match the federal funding.

Of Note: Sponsoring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) described America’s water infrastructure as being:

“In a state of crisis that is only exacerbated by the effects of climate change, growing populations, and demand. The longer we ignore the problem, the more it costs us.”

As of March 2015, about 11.4 percent of the continental U.S. is in what is considered “severe to extreme drought” - which is an improvement from 16 percent in March 2014 and 35.4 percent in March 2013.

Media:

• Sponsoring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) Press Release
• Homeland Security Newswire (Context)
• Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (In Favor)
• California Association of Sanitation Agencies (Previous Version - In Favor)
  

Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Flickr user Millennium Promise)