S. 3738

MORE WATER Act

Sponsor: Alex Padilla · 0 cosponsors

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Sec. 3. Reauthorization of recycling program and environmental restoration program and offset Added Sep 17

Where this section came from

Not in the first version (Introduced in Senate, Jan 29).

  1. Sep 17, 2026 · Reported to Senate Marked up by Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Jul 29 Reported by Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Sep 17 Committee members' individual votes aren't in our records.
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(a) Reauthorization of Water Recycling and Environmental Restoration Programs and offset. Section 4013 of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (43 U.S.C. 390b note; Public Law 114–322) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (1), by striking and at the end;

(2) in paragraph (2), by striking in and inserting under;

(3) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and

(4) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:

Text this section adds to the law

(2) the amendment made by section 4009(c), section 4010(b)(2), and subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), and (f) of section 4011, which shall expire 15 years after that date of enactment; and

(b) Ceiling on Federal share for water recycling projects. Section 1631(d)(1) of the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act (43 U.S.C. 390h–13(d)(1)) is amended by striking $20,000,000 (October 1996 prices) and inserting $50,000,000 (in December 2025 prices, as automatically adjusted each January based on the percentage increase in the consumer price index for all urban consumers (United States city average) over the previous year, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics).

(c) Actions for benefit of endangered species, important habitat, and water bodies. Section 4010(b) of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (Public Law 114–322; 130 Stat. 1872) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:

Text this section adds to the law

(2) Actions for benefit of endangered species, important habitat, and water bodies. The Secretary of the Interior (acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation) may undertake or enter into cooperative agreements to support activities carried out during the period of fiscal years 2028 through 2032—

(A) for the restoration of habitat or improvement of conditions at the Great Salt Lake and other saline inland lakes affected by the operation of the Central Utah Project or Bureau of Reclamation water projects or deliveries, subject to the requirement that, in the case of an activity to be carried out under this subparagraph in the State of Utah, the activity may only be carried out on the request of, and in agreement with, the State of Utah;

(B) for—

(i) gravel and rearing area additions, fish passage improvements, barrier removal, and habitat restoration to the Sacramento River and its tributaries to benefit species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), including Chinook salmon and steelhead trout;

(ii) scientifically improved and increased real-time monitoring to inform real-time operations of Shasta Dam and Reservoir and related Central Valley Project facilities and alternative methods, models, and equipment to improve temperature modeling, science, and monitoring to support flow benefits for fish species, and related forecasted information for purposes of predicting impacts to salmon, salmon habitat, species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), or other species of concern as a result of water management at Shasta Dam and Reservoir and related Central Valley Project facilities;

(iii) aquatic habitat restoration activities, including floodplain reconnection and reactivation projects (such as off-channel and managed floodplain inundation projects that enhance biological productivity and food web support for fish);

(iv) fish hatchery modernization and construction projects on the Sacramento River and its tributaries; and

(v) structural improvements, including temperature control and associated facilities, necessary to implement activities described in clauses (i) through (iv); and

(C) for planning, design, scientific studies, resource and biological monitoring, environmental reviews, permitting, construction, implementation, and adaptive management associated with any of the activities described in subparagraphs (A) and (B).