One of the last bills passed by Congress at the end of 2016, and signed into law by President Obama, was the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN, S.612), which included language addressing the California drought. The bill was the result of intensive work by House Reps. Kevin McCarthy and David Valadao and Sen. Dianne Feinstein to find a solution to insufficient water for California’s farmers without damaging existing environmental laws.
WIIN provides $558 million in short- and long-term authorizations to help California develop new water infrastructure. The funding will help supplement state and local funding to build projects that could provide more than 1.4 million acre feet of water, enough for 2.8 million households, according to Sen. Feinstein.
The act authorized $30 million for the design and construction of desalination projects and increased funding for water recycling, reuse and conservation projects by $100 million. It also authorized $335 million in funding for storage and groundwater projects — something California growers have been supporting for a number of years. Lastly, the bill also includes authorization of $43 million to benefit endangered fish and wildlife.
On the first day of the new session, Rep. Valadao introduced the Guiding Responsibility on Water bill, which would work to make more water available to families, farmers and entire communities in California and bordering Western states. Almond Board of California will be following this bill, as well as the implementation of the approved drought legislation.
