[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 135 (Wednesday, October 25, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1922]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        ``CALIFORNIA RECLAIMED WATER ACT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY''

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                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 25, 2000

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to join 
Senator Barbara Boxer in introducing the California Reclaimed Water Act 
for the 21st Century.
  The recent string of wet winters in California should not let us 
forget that water shortages and drought are quite normal in our State. 
I strongly believe that investment in reclaimed water technology--water 
recycling--can help us ``drought-proof'' any of our community water 
supplies in California.
  Projects that recycle water result in a net increase in available 
local water supplies and can decrease the need for water that must be 
supplied and often imported from other sources. Because wastewater for 
recycling is available even when other water supplies are diminished, 
recycled water can assist in providing a long-term, reliable, local 
source of water even during droughts.
  Our farmers, urban dwellers, sport and commercial fishing interests, 
tribes, mountain communities and environmentalists all seek a more 
reliable and a more certain water future. Recycled water plays an 
important part in meeting California's water needs today and will play 
an even more important role in the next several decades.
  About 3% of the water supply in the San Francisco Bay Area is now 
recycled. Water managers hope that eventually as much as 40% of the 
water will be recycled, perhaps as much as 500,000 acre-feet per year. 
California cities need planning help and financial assistance to find 
markets for the recycled water, and to construct the treatment and 
conveyance facilities needed to get the treated water to identified 
markets.
  Recycled water can be used for irrigation of golf courses, parks, 
school lands, business campuses, and highway medians, and for 
groundwater recharge, wetlands development; and industrial purposes. We 
have to start thinking about recycled water as a critical component of 
the water supply picture in California.
  Californians and government agencies have recently affirmed their 
support for water recycling, first with the passage of the California 
water bond last March, and more recently with the approval of the 
CALFED water agreement which broadly sets a course for California's 
water future. Water recycling and reuse is a major element of both 
these new actions and policies.
  The Federal government's support for water recycling was initially 
authorized in the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and 
Facilities Act of 1992. The Bureau of Reclamation's so-called ``Title 
XVI'' program originally approved financial assistance for planning, 
design and construction of four water recycling projects in California. 
More projects were approved in 1996.
  The legislation I introduce today builds upon these Congressional 
efforts, voter ballot initiatives and agency studies. Senator Barbara 
Boxer has today introduced identical legislation in the U.S. Senate.
  The bill authorizes a series of new Title XVI water recycling 
projects and directs the Secretary of the Interior to work with various 
water districts throughout the State on water recycling activities. 
Specific projects included in the bill are: Castaic Lake Water Agency; 
Clear Lake Basin Water Reuse Project; San Ramon Valley Recycled Water 
Project; Inland Empire Regional Water Recycling Project; San Pablo 
Baylands Water Reuse Project in Sonoma, Napa, Marin and Solano 
Counties; State of California Water Recycling Program; Regional Brine 
Lines (salt removal) in Southern California and in the San Francisco 
Bay and the Santa Clara Valley areas; Lower Chino Dairy Area 
Desalination Demonstration and Reclamation Project; and the West Basin 
Comprehensive Desalination Demonstration Program.
  These projects will have the capacity to produce hundreds of 
thousands of acre-feet of useable water. Each acre-foot of recycled 
water produced by these projects will reduce the demand in California 
for imported water from the Bay-Delta and the Colorado River.
  Unlike traditional Bureau of Reclamation water projects, these water 
recycling projects require a majority of funds to be locally provided. 
Consistent with Title XVI limitations on recycling projects as 
authorized in 1992 and 1996, the projects proposed in my bill require 
75% local funding. Federal cost sharing is limited to 25%. Moreover, 
this bill specifies that none of the funds can be used for annual 
operation and maintenance costs. Those annual expenses are the 
responsibility of the local water districts or management agency.
  I strongly believe that water recycling will continue to play an 
important and growing role in total water management strategies to 
provide a safe and sustainable water supply in California and in many 
other parts of the country. The water recycling projects authorized by 
the legislation I am introducing today are part of a long-term solution 
to some of California's most difficult challenges. Water recycling is 
not the only solution. But, water recycling and water reuse can play a 
significant part as these projects can be designed, built, and placed 
in service within a short time.

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