Senate committee approves water recycling investments

The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee last week passed legislation that will make significant investments in water recycling programs and resources. The two pieces of legislation — America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2020 and the Drinking Water Infrastructure Act of 2020 — include numerous provisions that will advance the adoption of water reuse across the country.

The legislation includes language to reauthorize the Pilot Program for Alternative Water Source Grants, through which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would provide competitive grants to communities to support water recycling projects. In addition, the legislation directs EPA to establish an Interagency Working Group on Water Reuse to coordinate federal activities across the federal government. The purpose of the new working group is to break down silos, leverage resources and expertise across agencies, and align activities to better support reuse.  The WateReuse Association was pivotal in advocating for these provisions in the draft bill and in the managers’ amendment during Committee markup.