In case you missed it, Rep. Jeff Denham’s (R-Turlock) groundbreaking legislation to authorize financing of new water storage projects passed the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday as part of America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (WRDA). Rep. Denham spoke on the floor to support his provision and the entire bill just before its passage – calling on Congress to pass this legislation to enable California to move forward on major water storage projects that have been on hold for nearly 50 years.
Rep. Denham’s language will provide financing for expanding water storage and comes from his long championed New WATER Act. The WRDA 2018 bill is expected to be voted on in the U.S. Senate and signed into law.
Rep. Denham: “The last time we built anything of significance for water storage in California was 1979 – we’ve waited 50 years! 50 years because we don’t have federal financing and federal authorization. Finally, under this bill, the New WATER Act will set up financing for these new water projects and we can finally get some of these big reservoirs underway.”
The New WATER Act is a pivotal step in solving the Central Valley’s long term water storage crisis. The bill provides financing for water projects throughout the western United States, including new reservoirs, below ground storage projects, recycling and desalination projects. Rep. Denham’s provision in the WRDA bill authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to finance Bureau of Reclamation projects under the Water Infrastructure and Innovation Act program and sets a one-year deadline for execution.
This monumental success comes on the heels of major developments in the fight against Sacramento’s water grab, including garnering the support of Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue in combatting the state’s Bay-Delta plan and the House passage of the Denham amendment to stop it.
