Biden-Harris administration invests $849 million in aging water infrastructure, drought resilience

The Biden-Harris administration has announced an $849 million investment to upgrade aging water delivery systems across the western United States, aiming to bolster drought resilience and improve water infrastructure.

The funding, part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, will support 77 projects in 11 states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, and Utah.

The projects include enhancements to water conveyance and storage, hydropower generation, and water treatment facilities. Notably, $118.3 million will be directed toward 14 projects in the Colorado River Basin, a region heavily impacted by a historic 24-year drought.

“President Biden’s Investing in America agenda provides transformational resources to safeguard clean, reliable water for families, farmers, and Tribes,” said Acting Deputy Secretary Laura Daniel-Davis. “As we work to address record drought and changing climate conditions in the Colorado River Basin and throughout the West, these investments in our aging water infrastructure will conserve community water supplies and revitalize water delivery systems.”

Key initiatives include $143 million for the Lower San Acacia Reach Improvements project in New Mexico, which will realign the Rio Grande for better water management and sediment control, and $204 million for California’s Delta Mendota Canal Subsidence Correction project to address structural impacts from groundwater depletion.

“These facilities are essential to the West as they provide water for families, farms, and Tribal communities while also producing hydropower and recreation opportunities,” said Bureau of Reclamation Deputy Commissioner Roque Sanchez.

This funding follows recent efforts by the administration to address water shortages in the Colorado River Basin, including a historic consensus agreement in 2023 to guide interim operations through 2026. The administration has also introduced five alternatives for post-2026 Colorado River operations to ensure long-term sustainability in the face of a megadrought—the driest period in the region in more than a thousand years.

The $849 million investment is part of a broader initiative to combat the effects of climate change in the West. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act have allocated a combined $15.4 billion for western water projects, including $5.35 billion for over 577 projects in Colorado River Basin states alone.

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