Taxpayers fund $105 million for water conservation


WASHINGTON — The Department of the Interior today announced a nearly $105 million taxpayer investment as part of the President’s Investing in America agenda for 67 water conservation and efficiency projects that will enhance drought resilience across the nation.

The investment comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and annual appropriations.

Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Bureau of Reclamation is investing a total of $8.3 billion taxpayer funds over five years for water infrastructure projects, including rural water, water storage, conservation and conveyance, nature-based solutions, dam safety, water purification and reuse, and desalination. 

Since the President signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in November 2021, Reclamation has announced taxpayers will fund $4.2 billion for 575 projects to date.

Reclamation anticipates that the projects, located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Texas, Utah and Wyoming, will save more than 111,000 acre-feet of water annually. 

That’s enough water to supply approximately 447,000 people for a year. 

This builds upon $140 million announced for water and energy efficiency projects last year. The complete list of projects can be found on Reclamation's website.