Interior announces a $142 million investment to advance drought resilience including one at Truckee Meadows.
RENO, Nev. — Acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior Laura Daniel-Davis today announced a $142 million investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to advance drought resilience and boost water supplies across the country, as part of the Investing in America agenda. The selected projects are expected to provide about 40,000 acre-feet of annual recycled water, enough to support more than 160,000 people a year.
President Biden’s Investing in America agenda represents the largest investment in climate resilience in the nation’s history and is providing much-needed resources to enhance Western communities’ resilience to drought and climate change. Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Bureau of Reclamation is investing a total of $8.3 billion over five years for water infrastructure projects, including rural water, water storage, conservation and conveyance, nature-based solutions, dam safety, water purification and reuse, and desalination. Since the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was signed in November 2021, Reclamation has announced more than $4.1 billion for more than 537 projects.
Acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior Daniel-Davis made the announcement after a tour of the Truckee Meadows Water Authority, which is receiving $30 million from today’s announcement to enhance water reclamation infrastructure at the Advanced Purified Water Facility.
"The Biden-Harris administration is bringing every resource to bear to ensure that we both minimize the impacts of climate-fueled drought and develop a long-term plan to build resilience and facilitate water conservation,” said Acting Deputy Secretary Daniel-Davis. "Access to clean and reliable water is essential for feeding families, growing crops, sustaining wildlife and the environment, and powering agricultural businesses. We also recognize the incredible potential for economic opportunity and job creation, as we work together to address the intensifying effects of climate change."
“We must use every tool that works to develop water sources that build resiliency throughout the West,” said Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton. “This funding through Reclamation’s water recycling and desalination construction programs enables partners to develop new water supplies through treatment of water that can be a part of the water supply portfolio.”
Water Recycling Projects
Approximately $85 million from today’s announcement will go to six water recycling projects in California, Hawaii, Kansas, Nevada and Texas that reclaim and reuse wastewater and impaired ground and surface water. Funding can be used for planning, design and construction of water recycling facilities in partnership with local governments.
Desalination Projects
Another $57.5 million from today’s announcement will go to four desalination projects in southern California to increase water management flexibility and make water supplies more reliable through the treatment of seawater or brackish water.
Projects are funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and annual appropriations. View a full list of projects on the Bureau of Reclamation’s website.
Today's announcement builds on $179 million announced last month for large scale water recycling projects to help communities develop local, drought-resistant water supplies by turning previously unusable water sources into clean, reliable ones. Reclamation's Large-Scale Water Recycling Program, launched in 2023 as a result of new funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, incentivizes conservation projects at a larger scale, with no cap on project size, and will play an important role in helping communities develop local, drought-resistant water supplies by turning unusable water sources into clean, reliable ones.
