Secretary Halaand to Spotlight Water Recycling Initiatives in Visit to California

Riverside, California – Today, Secretary Halaand will travel to California to discuss Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for water recycling projects throughout the Golden State. 

The trip comes as Californians, all too familiar with the impacts of climate change, continue to experience extreme heat and deadly fires. This week Bonny Fire burned over 2,000 acres in Riverside County, devastating communities on the edge of the Cahuilla Indian Reservation. 

A “megadrought” has taken over the West – diminishing the water supply of the Colorado River, of which California receives 4.4 million acre-feet. With more water supply cutbacks in the future, state and federal lawmakers are getting creative with water recycling and efficiency projects. 

Last week, the Biden Administration announced a $152 million investment in expanding water storage, with the goal of developing more than 1.7 million acre-feet of additional water storage capacity in Western states – including California.

President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda has contributed $12.9 billion in funding for water infrastructure projects and combating the historic drought.