Deb Haaland Secretary at U.S. Department of Interior | Official website
The Department of the Interior has announced a $179 million investment through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, aimed at innovative water reuse projects to bolster drought resilience across the western United States. This funding, sourced from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will support four projects in California and Utah designed to enhance water reliability.
These investments are part of the Department's Large-Scale Water Recycling Program, launched in 2023 with new funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The program incentivizes large-scale conservation projects without a cap on project size, helping communities develop local, drought-resistant water supplies by converting unusable water sources into clean, reliable ones.
President Biden’s Investing in America agenda represents the largest investment in climate resilience in U.S. history. Through this initiative and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Reclamation is investing $8.3 billion over five years for various water infrastructure projects. Since its enactment in November 2021, more than $3.5 billion has been allocated to over 530 projects.
“Water is essential to everything we do: feeding families, growing crops, powering agricultural businesses, sustaining wildlife and safeguarding Tribal subsistence practices,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “As the climate crisis drives severe drought conditions across the West, it will take all of us working together to safeguard our communities and enhance water reliability.”
Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton announced today that more than $99 million will be directed towards large-scale water recycling planning and design for the Pure Water Southern California facility by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Once completed, this project is expected to deliver up to 118,590 acre-feet of recycled water annually—sufficient for more than 470,000 people—and reduce reliance on Colorado River water.
“These historic investments will add a significant tool to our toolbox to bolster drought resilience in communities across the country,” said Commissioner Touton. “The projects being funded from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda will diversify our water supplies by taking these currently unusable water sources and turning them into new supplies to help meet growing water needs.”
Additional funding includes:
- $30 million for Buenaventura’s Ventura Water Pure Program
- $30 million for Los Angeles Groundwater Replenishment Project
- $20.5 million for Washington County Water Conservancy District's Regional Reuse system
These projects aim to provide large-scale benefits by increasing water management flexibility and stretching existing drinking water supplies with more drought-resistant sources. Collectively, they are expected to result in an annual capacity increase of over 182,000 acre-feet of additional water supply.
###