The Water for Conservation and Farming Act addresses drought preparedness and water supply reliability across western states served by the Bureau of Reclamation. The bill creates a $300 million annual fund from fiscal years 2035 through 2065 to support water infrastructure projects, including water reuse and desalination efforts, grants for water conservation, and dam safety improvements. It expands the WaterSMART grant program from $820 million to $1 billion in total authorization and establishes new programs to protect wildlife habitats during droughts, including waterbird and shorebird habitat creation compensating agricultural producers up to $3.5 million annually through 2029. The legislation also requires the federal government to develop comprehensive drought preparedness plans for fisheries important to tribes, commerce, and recreation, with $25 million authorized for fish recovery efforts in 2024, and reauthorizes several existing water conservation and ecosystem restoration programs through the early 2030s. Overall, the bill focuses on balancing water supply needs with environmental protection in regions facing prolonged drought.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.