The Rundown
- Reclamation takes extraordinary actions to alter water releases in the Upper Colorado River basin.
- Senate votes narrowly to allow mining near the protected Boundary Waters wilderness area, in northeastern Minnesota.
- EPA outlines water reuse plan and emphasizes reuse for data centers, industry, and power plants.
- Internal watchdogs for EPA and Reclamation say those agencies need better tracking for water infrastructure and water conservation funding.
And lastly, a bill introduced in the House would authorize a federal water-bill assistance program.
“Our families can’t live without access to water. We have a federal program for electricity and gas, but no permanent program for water. Millions of our neighbors across our country are having their water shut off simply because they cannot afford the rising bills.” – Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) in a statement in support of a bill that would establish a federal program to help poor households pay their water bills.
The Water Access and Affordability Act authorizes $20 billion annually over 10 years. Utilities would not be allowed to replace existing programs with a federal one; the legislation stipulates that federal funds will “supplement or enhance” existing programs. The federal government funded a water-bill assistance program during the pandemic, but its authorization has expired.
By the Numbers
5 Percent: Projected increase in U.S. hydropower production in 2026, according to the Energy Information Administration. The increase is from a low base – 2024 was a record low year for hydropower generation. Hydropower accounts for about 6 percent of U.S. electricity production.
News Briefs
Colorado River Moves
Difficult decisions for the Colorado River are starting to be made.
In what will be a defining year for the struggling watershed, the federal agency that manages the basin’s dams took unprecedented actions to store more water in Lake Powell in order to preserve hydropower generation and protect water-delivery infrastructure at Glen Canyon Dam that the agency says is at risk of damage due to low reservoir levels.
The Bureau of Reclamation will make two moves to support Lake Powell, the huge reservoir formed by Glen Canyon Dam that is less than 25 percent full and shrinking.
Reclamation’s first move is to release more water from Flaming Gorge, an upstream reservoir that is 82 percent full. With the consent of the four upper basin states, between 660,000 acre-feet and 1 million acre-feet will flow from Flaming Gorge into Powell over the next 12 months.
The agency’s second action is to hold back more water in Powell. Using authority granted in a 2024 decision, the agency will cut Powell’s water releases from 7.48 million acre-feet to 6 million acre-feet. This is the first time that Reclamation has invoked its Section 6(E) authority.
Without these moves, Reclamation’s latest reservoir projections show that even with average weather conditions Powell would drop below hydropower generation by the end of the summer.
Cutting Powell releases will have downstream legal implications. It will also slash hydropower generation at Hoover Dam and reduce boating access at Lake Mead.
Read more: U.S. Government Orders Emergency Actions to Protect Glen Canyon Dam
Boundary Waters Vote
The Senate, by a 50-49 margin, voted to open federally managed lands near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, in northeastern Minnesota, to mining.
In 2023, the Biden administration removed more than 225,000 acres of Superior National Forest from mining claims, blocking the desires of a Chilean company to develop a copper-nickel mine. The move was to lower the risk of water pollution in the wilderness area.
The Republican-led Congress is using a legislative tool called the Congressional Review Act that allows lawmakers to invalidate agency rules that were approved just before a change in presidential administration. The Boundary Waters vote is a new test of the act’s reach.
The House approved the measure – introduced by Rep. Pete Stauber, a Minnesota Republican – in January. It now goes to President Trump who has signaled his “strong support.”
In context: Senate Vote Tests Future of Boundary Waters Protections
Water Reuse
The EPA is putting its technical and convening resources toward increasing water reuse, especially in White House priority areas such as data centers, energy production, and manufacturing.
Actions mentioned in the plan include:
- finding new uses for chemical-laden “produced water” from oil and gas operations
- identifying best practices for water reuse in data center cooling
- mapping utilities that have recycled water available for industrial use
- researching water purification technologies that use less energy
The agency is calling the initiative Water Reuse 2.0, an extension of work in the first Trump administration.
Studies and Reports
EPA Management of Water Infrastructure Earmarks
The EPA could improve its tracking of water infrastructure dollars that Congress earmarks for specific projects, according to a report from the agency’s internal watchdog.
The Office of the Inspector General looked at a subset of earmarks awarded through 2024. Some 42 percent of those projects had not accessed their funds within 180 days and had not provided an explanation.
The watchdog says that without documentation, the agency can’t properly track projects.
Reclamation Management of Water Conservation Funds
Similar to the report noted above, the internal watchdog for the Bureau of Reclamation issued two audits that criticize the process that the agency or its partners used for awarding water conservation and drought response funding.
One audit covers water conservation funds in the Upper Colorado River basin. The other, drought response in the Lower Colorado. In both cases, money was awarded with less transparency and opportunity for oversight.
On the Radar
Interior Budget Hearings
Doug Burgum, the interior secretary, will testify before committees in both chambers about the department’s fiscal year 2027 budget request.
On April 20, Burgum will appear at a House Appropriations subcommittee meeting.
Then on April 22, he will take questions from a Senate Appropriations subcommittee.
Federal Water Tap is a weekly digest spotting trends in U.S. government water policy. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.
