Congress doubles water storage funding—but leaves equity and sustainability to chance.
H.R. 338 — Every Drop Counts Act · Filed by Jim Costa (D-CA) · 7 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 13, 2025 · Hearing held
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What it does
This bill amends the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to expand eligibility for federal water storage grants. It increases the maximum capacity threshold for groundwater storage projects from 30,000 to 150,000 acre-feet annually, broadens the types of projects that qualify (including those that convey or recover water from storage), and doubles the federal funding authority from $5 billion to $10 billion for these grants.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a straightforward expansion of federal grant eligibility and funding authority for water storage projects under existing IIJA authority. It increases thresholds and broadens project types without introducing new regulatory frameworks or hidden carve-outs.
What the text implies
- The bill raises the annual groundwater recharge threshold to 150,000 acre-feet but does not specify environmental review standards, aquifer sustainability criteria, or protections against over-extraction—potentially enabling projects that deplete aquifers faster than they recharge.
- Doubling federal funding authority ($5B to $10B) without appropriations language means the bill creates authority but does not guarantee funding; actual dollars depend on future appropriations bills, which may not materialize.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
water districts and municipal water authorities; agricultural water users and irrigation districts; groundwater recharge and storage technology providers