The Rundown
- Congress passes a budget for environment and water agencies, sending the bill to the president.
- House passes a foreign aid budget that allots $338 million for water, sanitation, and hygiene – a 25 percent cut – and includes a provision on Mexico and the Rio Grande.
- House passes a bill to allow for showerheads that are less water-efficient.
- EPA proposes to constrain state and tribal Clean Water Act permitting.
- EPA inspector general audits U.S. Virgin Islands’ water infrastructure management capacity.
And lastly, the western U.S. is witnessing record heat and meager snowpack.
“Significant snow is needed over the coming months to compensate for the lack of accumulation so far.” – NOAA’s drought status assessment for the Intermountain West.
By the Numbers
9: States in the western U.S. that set a record for highest average December temperature, according to NOAA’s monthly climate report. The period of record extends 131 years. Six other western states had a top-ten warmest December. The heat was greatest in the Intermountain West, where Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming each had temperatures more than 10 degrees F above the 20th-century December average. These are the headwaters of the imperiled Colorado River, where the runoff forecast has steadily declined this month and snow levels are near record lows.
$338 Million: Funding earmarked for water, sanitation, and hygiene in a fiscal year 2026 budget bill that passed the House. That represents a 25 percent cut from the previous year’s funding.
News Briefs
Budget Matters
Since ending the government shutdown in November, Congress has taken the fiscal year 2026 budget in chunks.
A bill for energy and environment agencies has now cleared the House and Senate and is awaiting President Trump’s signature. Representatives rejected the administration’s proposed water infrastructure funding cuts and maintained state revolving fund spending at FY25 levels.
The House, meanwhile, passed a separate bill that funds foreign aid programs. Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) were directly allocated $338 million.
Global health programs, which can include WASH spending that helps mothers and children, received $3.5 billion.
The bill prevents funds from helping Mexico unless the secretary of state certifies that the country is supplying water to the Rio Grande according to its treaty obligations. Funds for illegal drug enforcement are not affected by this provision.
Clean Water Act Permitting
The EPA drafted a proposal to constrain state and tribal authority over Clean Water Act permitting.
At question is Section 401, which allows states and tribes to review and set conditions for projects that have water pollution discharges within their jurisdictions.
The agency’s proposal will limit these reviews to immediate water-quality consequences from the project. Or in the agency’s words, “an assessment of whether a facility’s point source discharges into waters of the United States will comply with specified water quality requirements.” The proposal also defines timelines for state reviews.
Similar changes are being sought by Republicans in Congress.
In the past, Democratic-led states have used this section to block fossil-fuel projects like natural gas pipelines and coal terminals.
The agency is taking public comments on the proposal through February 17. Submit then via www.regulations.gov using docket number EPA-HQ-OW-2025-2929.
The agency will hold two public meetings on January 28 to discuss the proposed changes. Register for the 10:00 a.m. Eastern session, or the 2:00 p.m. Eastern session.
Shower Power
The president’s complaint with his shower experiences found an audience in the Republican-led House, which passed the Saving Homeowners from Overregulation with Exceptional Rising Act – or the SHOWER Act, its less contorted acronym – to allow showerheads to use more water.
Studies and Reports
Water Infrastructure Management in U.S. Virgin Islands
The U.S. Virgin Islands has staffing and other managerial challenges that make it difficult for the area to spend its allocation of federal water infrastructure funding.
That’s according to a Government Accountability Office audit that found a number of shortcomings: a failure to file expense reimbursements and insufficient staff.
The report is part of a series investigating the implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which directed about $50 billion in water infrastructure funds to states, tribes, and territories.
On the Radar
Colorado River Draft EIS Meeting
On January 29, the Bureau of Reclamation will hold the first of two virtual public meetings to gather public comments on its draft Colorado River operations report.
The meeting will be held from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Register here.
Army Corps Advisory Group Meeting
On February 5, the Western Water Cooperative Committee, which works with the Army Corps on the operation of dams and reservoirs in the western states, will hold a virtual public meeting.
Because the committee is relatively new – its charter dates to February 2025 – the agenda is to discuss proposed by-laws and set a meeting calendar.
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.
