[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 177 (Thursday, November 15, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2448]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 2614

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN CALVERT

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 15, 2007

  Mr. CALVERT. Madam Speaker, H.R. 2614 is a relatively modest, yet 
important step towards meeting the long-term water needs for the West. 
Water recycling is an approach that more and more communities are 
tapping to meet local and regional water demand. To address the 
continued growth of water users, communities are truly maximizing the 
use of every drop of water.
  H.R. 2614 authorizes Federal participation in conjunction with two 
water reclamation projects, one located in my congressional district 
and one located in the 41st Congressional District of California. Both 
projects are located in the greater Inland Empire, a region heavily 
dependent on imported sources of water.
  The City of Corona Water Recycling and Reuse Project will enable the 
city of Corona to provide recycled water to parks, landscape 
maintenance districts, schools, landscaped freeway frontages and any 
other project that does not require potable water. The project will 
also reduce the need for increased water imports and construction of 
additional drinking water infrastructure.
  The project will consist of three reservoirs and two pump stations 
along with retrofitted user irrigation systems. Additionally, 27 miles 
of pipelines are needed since recycled water is required to be kept 
completely separate from drinking water and uses a dedicated system of 
pipelines. The city plans to retrofit approximately 200 sites including 
schools, public parks and landscape areas, freeway landscaping, golf 
courses, and commercial landscaping.
  The Yucaipa Valley Water Supply Renewal Project will maximize the 
various water resources in the Yucaipa Valley. The new facility will 
contain an advanced filtration (reverse osmosis) system and a brine 
pipeline to remove salinity, contaminants, and organic compounds from 
the water supply in the Yucaipa Valley. The brine pipeline will extend 
nearly 20 miles to the existing Santa Ana Regional Interceptor brine 
pipeline.
  The completed project will minimize the amount of water imported from 
northern California, maximize the use of higher quality water, reduce 
withdrawals from ground water supplies, and provide a long-term, 
drought-proof water supply. The full project is expected to reduce 
demands on the California State Water Project by over 4 billion gallons 
per year, which is a sufficient quantity of water for 27,000 families 
of four each year.
  I want to thank the city of Corona and city of Yucaipa for developing 
innovative, water-saving projects that truly benefit our entire region. 
I also want to thank my good friend Grace Napolitano, the Chairwoman of 
the Water and Power Subcommittee, for her leadership and support of my 
legislation. I know she shares my belief that water recycling is an 
important tool in addressing growing water needs in the West. Madam 
Speaker, I think it is crucial that we recognize and assist communities 
that are working to reduce their reliance on imported water and I urge 
all colleagues to support the passage of H.R. 2614.

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