In April, Reps. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) and Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) introduced the Advancing Water Reuse Act (H.R.2940) which aims to accelerate the use of recycled water by manufacturers, data centers and other industrial entities.
According to the WateReuse Association (WateReuse), while nearly 70% of the planet is covered by water, only 2.5% is freshwater and only 1% is accessible. Industrial water use in the United States is second only to agribusiness in terms of water usage, and current industrial water reuse offsets only a fraction of this. The intention of the Advancing Water Reuse Act is to create opportunities for businesses to expand operations and grow jobs while also protecting local water resources by establishing an Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for industrial water reuse.
“The WateReuse Association commends Representatives LaHood, Tenney, Sanchez and Schneider for helping to bridge the gap between water resource management and economic expansion,” said Bart Weiss, President of the Association. “Whether it’s supporting the AI revolution or boosting American manufacturing, the Advancing Water Reuse Act will help ensure that businesses have long-term, reliable water supplies and that community water resources are protected.”
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Industrial water reuse is an effective and efficient process to meet specific quality standards for an intended end use. This water can originate in the same facility that captures, treats, and reuses it, which is known as onsite reuse; or, it can be supplied through a public-private partnership by which municipalities provide treated recycled water.
With growing industries comes increased demand. Data centers are expected to consume up to 33 billion gallons of water in 2028. Hyperscale data centers alone will use as much water as 299,154 households. A single semiconductor chip manufacturing facility can use as much water as a small- to midsize city (tens of millions of gallons per day). By incentivizing investments in water reuse, the Advancing Water Reuse Act will help protect water quality by limiting discharges of industrial effluent, reduce demand on freshwater supplies, and catalyze business development and job growth.
WateReuse said it looks forward to working with the bill’s champions and with the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee to integrate the ITC into this year’s tax legislation.
Sources: WateReuse
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