The WateReuse Association announced its approval of the Biden Administration’s FY2024 Budget Request funding for the Alternative Water Source Grants Pilot Program.
The Administration requested full and first-time funding for the pilot program, which would be the first nationwide water recycling program in the U.S.
Through the Alternative Water Source Grants Pilot Program, EPA would provide competitive grants to state, interstate, and intrastate water resource development agencies to engineer, design, construct, and test alternative water source systems, including water recycling systems.
WateReuse led the push to reauthorize the program in the recently-enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA). The IIJA authorizes Congress to appropriate up to $25 million per year for the program.
“With growing water quality and water supply challenges around the country, Congress and the Administration must invest more deliberately in programs dedicated to helping communities build resilient water systems,” said Patricia Sinicropi, WateReuse Association’s executive director. “We applaud the Administration for its commitment to standing up the first nationwide program dedicated to developing sustainable alternative water sources.”
The budget request is the first step in the annual appropriations process. Congress will now begin to consider the President’s budget request as it drafts appropriations bills for FY2024.
WateReuse says that it expects to see proposed spending bills later this spring, and will be working closely with congressional champions, appropriators, and WateReuse members to ensure that funding for the Alternative Water Source Grants Pilot Program is included.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 40 U.S. states experienced moderate drought or worse in 2022. Investments in water recycling ensure reliable and resilient community water supplies, support sustainable economic development, and help protect our rivers, lakes, streams, aquifers, and wetlands.
