This Infrastructure Week, the WateReuse Association celebrates the introduction of S.4231, the Support to Rehydrate the Environment, Agriculture and Municipalities (STREAM) Act, which authorizes $300 million for water reuse projects through the Bureau of Reclamation’s Title XVI-WIIN Water Reuse Grants Program. The bill also raises the per-project funding cap for Title XVI-WIIN projects from $20 million to $50 million and authorizes an additional $150 million for desalination projects. WateReuse worked closely with Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to craft the legislation. The bill was introduced on May 17 by Senators Feinstein, Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ).
“The STREAM Act, like last year’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, elevates water reuse as an integral tool for addressing the water resource management challenges of today,” said Patricia Sinicropi, Executive Director of the WateReuse Association. “We commend Senators Feinstein, Kelly, and Sinema for their vision in addressing these challenges head-on.”
Communities throughout the country are turning to water reuse to build climate resilience, protect water quality, and meet a wide range of water management challenges. In the face of persistent drought in the West, the STREAM Act will help communities generate sustainable water supplies for drinking, irrigation, environmental restoration, and other important uses.
“As the past two years have painfully demonstrated, severe and prolonged drought exacerbated by climate change is the stark reality for the West,” said Senator Feinstein. “If we don’t take action now to improve our drought resilience, it’s only going to get worse. We need an ‘all-of-the-above’ strategy to meet this challenge, including increasing our water supply, incentivizing projects that provide environmental benefits and drinking water for disadvantaged communities, and investing in environmental restoration efforts.”
“As Arizona continues to navigate this historic drought, it’s more important than ever to build infrastructure that promotes a secure water future. Combined with the investments made in the bipartisan infrastructure law, this legislation will help Arizona and the West expand drought resiliency projects, increase groundwater storage, and better manage and conserve our water resources,” said Senator Kelly.
“Our STREAM Act builds on our bipartisan infrastructure law’s investments modernizing and increasing Arizona’s water supply by strengthening Arizona’s water storage, recycling and desalination projects, helping ensure Arizona’s water future is safe and secure,” said Senator Sinema.
The WateReuse Association looks forward to working with Congress to enact this important legislation this year. Read more about the STREAM Act here.
The WateReuse Association is the nation’s only trade association solely dedicated to advancing laws, policy, funding, and public acceptance of recycled water. Our membership includes utilities that recycle water, businesses that support the development of recycled water projects, and consumers of recycled water.
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