Interior is funding $223 million for water recycling and desalination projects aimed at addressing the impacts of drought.
WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior today announced $223 million from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda for water recycling and desalination projects aimed at addressing the impacts of drought. The funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and annual appropriations is being awarded to 18 projects in eight states through the Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse and Desalination Programs. The selected projects are expected to result in 305,936 acre-feet of annual recycled water.
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 three years ago, Reclamation has announced almost $5.3 billion for more than 670 projects.
“Access to clean and reliable water is essential for feeding families and communities, growing crops, sustaining wildlife and the environment, and powering agricultural businesses,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. "The Biden-Harris administration has brought 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.”
“With these historic investments, we continue to work with our stakeholders to develop drought resiliency in western states through water reuse and desalination,” Deputy Commissioner Roque Sanchez said during a visit to one of the projects in Oklahoma today. “This allows for communities and water users to develop previously unusable water supplies to create a new local water supply that is less vulnerable to impacts of climate change and drought.”
Sanchez visited the Foss Reservoir Master Conservancy District, which received $7.5 million for construction of its Drinking Water Pretreatment Rehabilitation Project. The district will upgrade its treatment process at the Foss Water Treatment Plant, which treats brackish Foss Reservoir source water. The upgrades are expected to increase the plant’s total capacity by about 25 percent, from approximately 1.8 million gallons per day to 2.3 million gallons per day. The increased reliability of Foss Reservoir and additional pretreated supply will further strengthen the district’s drought and climate change resilience. To view a full list of projects, visit Reclamation’s website.
Today’s funding builds upon several previous announcements under the program including $142 million announced in June.
