[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 73 (Wednesday, May 13, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5442-S5443]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REID (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, and Mrs. Boxer):
  S. 1035. A bill to enhance the ability of drinking water utilities in 
the United States to develop and implement climate change adaptation 
programs and policies, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the 
bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1035

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Drinking Water Adaptation, 
     Technology, Education, and Research (WATER) Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) the consensus among climate scientists is overwhelming 
     that climate change is occurring more rapidly than can be 
     attributed to natural causes, and that significant impacts to 
     the water supply are already occurring;
       (2) among the first and most critical of those impacts will 
     be change to patterns of precipitation around the world, 
     which will affect water availability for the most basic 
     drinking water and domestic water needs of populations in 
     many areas of the United States;
       (3) drinking water utilities throughout the United States, 
     as well as those in Europe, Australia, and Asia, are 
     concerned that extended changes in precipitation will lead to 
     extended droughts;
       (4) supplying water is highly energy-intensive and will 
     become more so as climate change forces more utilities to 
     turn to alternative supplies;
       (5) energy production consumes a significant percentage of 
     the fresh water resources of the United States;
       (6) since 2003, the drinking water industry of the United 
     States has sponsored, through a nonprofit water research 
     foundation, various studies to assess the impacts of climate 
     change on drinking water supplies;
       (7) those studies demonstrate the need for a comprehensive 
     program of research into the full range of impacts on 
     drinking water utilities, including impacts on water 
     supplies, facilities, and customers;
       (8) that nonprofit water research foundation is also 
     coordinating internationally with other drinking water 
     utilities on shared research projects and has hosted 
     international workshops with counterpart European and Asian 
     water research organizations to develop a unified research 
     agenda for applied research on adaptive strategies to address 
     climate change impacts;
       (9) research data in existence as of the date of enactment 
     of this Act--
       (A) summarize the best available scientific evidence on 
     climate change;
       (B) identify the implications of climate change for the 
     water cycle and the availability and quality of water 
     resources; and
       (C) provide general guidance on planning and adaptation 
     strategies for water utilities; and
       (10) given uncertainties about specific climate changes in 
     particular areas, drinking water utilities need to prepare 
     for a wider range of likely possibilities in managing and 
     delivery of water.

     SEC. 3. RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON DRINKING 
                   WATER UTILITIES.

       (a) In General.--The Administrator of the Environmental 
     Protection Agency, in cooperation with the Secretary of 
     Commerce, the Secretary of Energy, and the Secretary of the 
     Interior, shall establish and provide funding for a program 
     of directed and applied research, to be conducted through a 
     nonprofit drinking water research foundation and sponsored by 
     water utilities, to assist the utilities in adapting to the 
     effects of climate change.
       (b) Research Areas.--The research conducted in accordance 
     with subsection (a) shall include research into--
       (1) water quality impacts and solutions, including 
     research--
       (A) to address probable impacts on raw water quality 
     resulting from--
       (i) erosion and turbidity from extreme precipitation 
     events;
       (ii) watershed vegetation changes; and
       (iii) increasing ranges of pathogens, algae, and nuisance 
     organisms resulting from warmer temperatures; and
       (B) on mitigating increasing damage to watersheds and water 
     quality by evaluating extreme events, such as wildfires and 
     hurricanes, to learn and develop management approaches to 
     mitigate--
       (i) permanent watershed damage;
       (ii) quality and yield impacts on source waters; and
       (iii) increased costs of water treatment;
       (2) impacts on groundwater supplies from carbon 
     sequestration, including research to evaluate potential water 
     quality consequences of carbon sequestration in various 
     regional aquifers, soil conditions, and mineral deposits;
       (3) water quantity impacts and solutions, including 
     research--
       (A) to evaluate climate change impacts on water resources 
     throughout hydrological basins of the United States;
       (B) to improve the accuracy and resolution of climate 
     change models at a regional level;
       (C) to identify and explore options for increasing 
     conjunctive use of aboveground and underground storage of 
     water; and
       (D) to optimize operation of existing and new reservoirs in 
     diminished and erratic periods of precipitation and runoff;
       (4) infrastructure impacts and solutions for water 
     treatment and wastewater treatment facilities and underground 
     pipelines, including research--
       (A) to evaluate and mitigate the impacts of sea level rise 
     on--
       (i) near-shore facilities;
       (ii) soil drying and subsidence;
       (iii) reduced flows in water and wastewater pipelines; and
       (iv) extreme flows in wastewater systems; and
       (B) on ways of increasing the resilience of existing 
     infrastructure, planning cost-effective responses to adapt to 
     climate change, and developing new design standards for 
     future infrastructure that include the use of energy 
     conservation measures and renewable

[[Page S5443]]

     energy in new construction to the maximum extent practicable;
       (5) desalination, water reuse, and alternative supply 
     technologies, including research--
       (A) to improve and optimize existing membrane technologies, 
     and to identify and develop breakthrough technologies, to 
     enable the use of seawater, brackish groundwater, treated 
     wastewater, and other impaired sources;
       (B) into new sources of water through more cost-effective 
     water treatment practices in recycling and desalination; and
       (C) to improve technologies for use in--
       (i) managing and minimizing the volume of desalination and 
     reuse concentrate streams; and
       (ii) minimizing the environmental impacts of seawater 
     intake at desalination facilities;
       (6) energy efficiency and greenhouse gas minimization, 
     including research--
       (A) on optimizing the energy efficiency of water supply and 
     wastewater operations and improving water efficiency in 
     energy production and management; and
       (B) to identify and develop renewable, carbon-neutral 
     energy options for the water supply and wastewater industry;
       (7) regional and hydrological basin cooperative water 
     management solutions, including research into--
       (A) institutional mechanisms for greater regional 
     cooperation and use of water exchanges, banking, and 
     transfers; and
       (B) the economic benefits of sharing risks of shortage 
     across wider areas;
       (8) utility management, decision support systems, and water 
     management models, including research--
       (A) into improved decision support systems and modeling 
     tools for use by water utility managers to assist with 
     increased water supply uncertainty and adaptation strategies 
     posed by climate change;
       (B) to provide financial tools, including new rate 
     structures, to manage financial resources and investments, 
     because increased conservation practices may diminish revenue 
     and increase investments in infrastructure; and
       (C) to develop improved systems and models for use in 
     evaluating--
       (i) successful alternative methods for conservation and 
     demand management; and
       (ii) climate change impacts on groundwater resources;
       (9) reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving energy 
     demand management, including research to improve energy 
     efficiency in water collection, production, transmission, 
     treatment, distribution, and disposal to provide more 
     sustainability and means to assist drinking water utilities 
     in reducing the production of greenhouse gas emissions in the 
     collection, production, transmission, treatment, 
     distribution, and disposal of drinking water;
       (10) water conservation and demand management, including 
     research--
       (A) to develop strategic approaches to water demand 
     management that offer the lowest-cost, noninfrastructural 
     options to serve growing populations or manage declining 
     supplies, primarily through--
       (i) efficiencies in water use and reallocation of the saved 
     water;
       (ii) demand management tools;
       (iii) economic incentives; and
       (iv) water-saving technologies; and
       (B) into efficiencies in water management through 
     integrated water resource management that incorporates--
       (i) supply-side and demand-side processes;
       (ii) continuous adaptive management; and
       (iii) the inclusion of stakeholders in decisionmaking 
     processes; and
       (11) communications, education, and public acceptance, 
     including research--
       (A) into improved strategies and approaches for 
     communicating with customers, decisionmakers, and other 
     stakeholders about the implications of climate change on 
     water supply and water management;
       (B) to develop effective communication approaches--
       (i) to gain public acceptance of alternative water supplies 
     and new policies and practices, including conservation and 
     demand management; and
       (ii) to gain public recognition and acceptance of increased 
     costs; and
       (C) to create and maintain a clearinghouse of climate 
     change information for water utilities, academic researchers, 
     stakeholders, government agencies, and research 
     organizations.
       (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for 
     each of fiscal years 2010 through 2020.

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