[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 93 (Thursday, July 8, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7834-S7835]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GRAHAM of Florida:
  S. 2621. A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to 
extend the pilot program for alternative water source projects; to the 
Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, the Authorization for the Alternative 
Water Sources Act of 2000, which I originally introduced, expires this 
year. I am introducing a bill to extend this law for five years through 
Fiscal Year 2009 at an average authorization level of $25 million per 
year.
  Our Nation's water supply needs are great and growing. For instance, 
each day the State of Florida adds 900 residents. To satisfy the water 
needs of this daily population increase, Florida must supply 200,000 
more gallons of fresh water per day. Furthermore, the additional 
infrastructure needed to accommodate new residents blocks rainwater 
penetration into aquifers, lowering the water table. In fact, residents 
of Florida's west coast are increasingly resorting to drinking 
desalinated water as fresh water sources no longer suffice. Depletion 
of fresh water has resulted in saltwater intrusion into inland aquifers 
tainting water supplies and reducing the ability of soils to grow 
plants.
  Other States are facing similar crises.
  In southern New Jersey, water demands are so great that groundwater 
withdrawals from aquifers have lowered the water table by 200 feet, 
causing saltwater intrusion.
  In Georgia and South Carolina, excessive water demand has 
significantly lowered water levels causing the upward migration of salt 
water in the Brunswick area and an encroachment of seawater into the 
aquifer at the northern end of Hilton Head Island.
  On the East Coast, which gets on average 40 inches of rain per year, 
water resources have long been thought to be inexhaustible. However 
with changing population patterns and increasing personal and 
commercial water use, many water-rich areas are finding that the water 
will not always be there when they need it.
  The extension of the Alternative Water Sources Act will provide 
States with the assistance they need to meet the needs of growing 
populations without harming the environment. It will also provide funds 
on a cost-shared basis to States for development of non-traditional 
water resources that will provide much needed water and prevent future 
environmental damages.
  The bill I introduce today, authorizes the EPA to provide grants, at 
an average $25 million a year for Fiscal Years 2005 through 2009, on a 
cost-shared basis for alternative water source projects. The EPA 
administrator is required to take into account the eligibility of a 
project for funding under the existing programs when selecting

[[Page S7835]]

projects for funding under this nationwide program.
  This law is critical to the environmentally friendly development of 
water resources in the United States. It authorizes funds for 
innovative water reuse, reclamation and conservation projects--helping 
many States meet current and future water supply.
  Populations in water-rich areas are drawing increasingly on limited 
groundwater supplies. In the past, groundwater users in the East might 
have been characterized as private wells and small public water 
systems. Today, as people move away from traditional population centers 
along major rivers, groundwater use is increasing. In Pennsylvania, 
about six million people rely on groundwater.
  Yet, trillions of gallons of fresh water in the United States are 
wasted and flood into the sea annually. For instance, in Florida, every 
year approximately 970 billion gallons of fresh water are diverted into 
canals that flow into the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic. This 
precious fresh water would otherwise have replenished aquifers or 
nourished fragile aquatic ecosystems. If properly captured and stored, 
this water could be used for industrial or commercial activities, 
reducing pressure on precious drinking water sources.
  Our increasing water needs require immediate attention.
  We continue to make progress in conservation. In the South Florida 
Water Management District, nearly 200 million gallons of water are 
being reused per day. However, demands remain great. For instance, each 
resident in South Florida uses nearly 175 gallons of fresh water per 
day--almost twice the national average. Much of this potable water is 
used for watering landscaping. We must find ways to reserve potable 
water for drinking and make better use of other sources of water for 
agricultural, commercial and outdoor watering purposes.
  With innovations in water quantity management, we can curtail such 
tremendous wastes of water and reuse the water that supply storage 
facilities now cannot absorb.
  In 1999, I sponsored S. 968, the Alternative Water Sources Act, which 
authorized funding for alternative water projects in States that do not 
receive funds for water supply projects. In 2000, my bill was 
incorporated into S. 835, the Estuaries and Clean Waters Act of 2000, 
which became Public Law 106-457. Unfortunately, the authorization for 
the Alternative Water Sources Act is due to expire this year. With our 
Nation facing many water quantity management issues, we must act now to 
renew the authorization.
  Congress can provide tools to ensure that Americans have the water 
they need for a healthy and productive future. The Alternative Water 
Sources Act is one such tool, and we must not let it expire. I hope 
that Congress will approve an extension of the Act before the end of 
the year.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2621

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. PILOT PROGRAM FOR ALTERNATIVE WATER SOURCE 
                   PROJECTS.

       Section 220(j) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 
     (33 U.S.C. 1300(j)) is amended in the first sentence--
       (1) by striking ``$75,000,000'' and inserting 
     ``$125,000,000''; and
       (2) by striking ``2002 through 2004'' and inserting ``2005 
     through 2009''.
                                 ______