Addressing Drought

Water is essential to feeding families, growing crops, sustaining wildlife and the environment, and powering agricultural businesses. Unfortunately, the climate crisis has created drought conditions in the west that continue to worsen, leading to historically low water allocations. 

With the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, President Biden took the historic step to provide critical funding to address water and drought challenges and invest in our nation’s western water and power infrastructure while rebuilding our existing projects to withstand a changing hydrology.   

The infrastructure law provides $8.3 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation’s water infrastructure programs and $2.5 for authorized water rights settlement projects (more details on our Tribal Investments page). The funding includes:  

  • $1 billion for WaterSMART Programs to support reuse projects, with $550 million for Title XVI (Water Reclamation and Reuse Projects), and $450 million for large-scale projects. 
  • $1 billion for rural water projects to support projects that have been authorized by an Act of Congress before July 1, 2021, to meet the critical water supply needs of rural communities and Tribal nations.
  • $500 million for dam safety projects that will fund construction and maintain the operational capacity of 12 dams that require modification and minimize risk to the public.
  • $300 million to implement the Colorado River Basin Drought Contingency Plan, designed to protect the Colorado River system through voluntary reductions and increased conservation.
  • $250 million for Aquatic Ecosystems Restoration to invest in the health of fisheries, wildlife or aquatic habitat through habitat restoration and improved fish passage. 
  • $250 million for desalination construction to support the development and supplement municipal and irrigation water supplies through the treatment of ocean or brackish water, providing a local supply and flexibility during water shortages.
  • $100 million for watershed health projects, including the design, implementation and monitoring of conservation outcomes of habitat restoration projects that improve watershed health. 
  • $100 million for small surface water and groundwater storage, which will invest in small water storage with a capacity of not less than 2,000 acre-feet and not more than 30,000 acre-feet and increases surface water or groundwater storage; or conveys water to or from surface water or groundwater storage. 

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law makes one of the largest investments in drought resilience in the nation’s history, showing the urgent need to minimize the impacts of drought and develop a long-term plan. The Interior Department is helping to marshal existing resources and work in partnership with irrigators and local, state and Tribal governments to address and develop these long-term measures while combatting climate change and restoring lands, water and wildlife. 

Resources: 

Investing in Water Management Strategies

  • Aquatic Ecosystems Restoration

    Two people wearing wet suits and diving gear like masks, oxygen tanks, fins, and gloves stand on the deck of a boat.
    Two people wearing wet suits and diving gear like masks, oxygen tanks, fins, and gloves stand on the deck of a boat.
    Certified USGS divers prepare their gear and tools while on board PCMSC research vessel Parke Snavely. They will jump into the water to help measure vegetation density in Middle River, part of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Photo by USGS.

    Aquatic Ecosystems Restoration

    $250 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding will support the health of fisheries, wildlife or aquatic habitat through habitat restoration and improved fish passage. 

  • Drought Contingency Plan

    Colorado river cuts through a valley.
    Colorado river cuts through a valley.
    Photo by Bureau of Reclamation.

    Drought Contingency Plan

    $300 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding will support the implementation of the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan designed to protect the Colorado River system through voluntary reductions and increased conservation.

  • Dam Safety

    Lake Mead surrounded by rocks that indicate the water levels.
    Lake Mead surrounded by rocks that indicate the water levels.
    Water intakes on Lake Mead behind Hoover Dam. Photo by Bureau of Reclamation.

    Dam Safety

    $500 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding will support construction and maintain the operational capacity of 12 dams that require modification and minimize risk to the public.

  • Watershed Health Projects

    Stream sampling in the School Branch watershed.
    Stream sampling in the School Branch watershed.
    Stream sampling in the School Branch watershed. Photo by U.S. Geological Survey.

    Watershed Health Projects

    $100 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding will support the design, implementation and monitoring of conservation outcomes of habitat restoration projects that improve watershed health. 

  • Rural Water

    What appears to be a lush blanket of ground cover is in fact a major infestation of South American Water Hyacinth.
    What appears to be a lush blanket of ground cover is in fact a major infestation of South American Water Hyacinth.
    What appears to be a lush blanket of ground cover is in fact a major infestation of South American Water Hyacinth choking the intake channel for the C. W. “Bill” Jones Pumping Plant at the southern end of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in California. Photo by Bureau of Reclamation.

    Rural Water

    $1 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding will support rural water projects that had been authorized before July 1, 2021, to meet the critical water supply needs of rural communities and Tribal nations. 

  • Small Surface Water and Groundwater Storage

    Small snails on a river bed.
    Small snails on a river bed.
    Juga sp. snails, the molluscan intermediate host for Nanophyetus salmincola, populate the bottom of a stream bed in a south Puget Sound watershed. Photo by Bonnie Besijn, U.S. Geological Survey.

    Small Surface Water and Groundwater Storage

    $100 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding will support small water storage with a capacity of not less than 2,000 acre-feet and not more than 30,000 acre-feet and increases surface water or groundwater storage; or conveys water to or from surface water or groundwater storage. 

  • Municipal and Irrigation Water Supplies

    Group of people in a desalination facility.
    Group of people in a desalination facility.
    Photo by Bureau of Reclamation.

    Municipal and Irrigation Water Supplies

    $250 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding will support desalination construction, a process which turns salt water into freshwater. Funding also supports projects to develop and supplement municipal and irrigation water supplies through the treatment of water to provide a local supply and flexibility during water shortages.  

  • WaterSMART Programs

    Clear creek runs through grassy valley at sunrise.
    Clear creek runs through grassy valley at sunrise.
    Prosser Creek downstream of Prosser Creek Dam near the confluence of the Truckee River (Truckee, California) at sunrise. Photo by Alex Stephens, Bureau of Reclamation.

    WaterSMART Programs

    $1 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding will support reuse projects, with $550 million for Title XVI (Water Reclamation and Reuse Projects), and $450 million for large-scale projects. 

  • Two people wearing wet suits and diving gear like masks, oxygen tanks, fins, and gloves stand on the deck of a boat.
  • Colorado river cuts through a valley.
  • Lake Mead surrounded by rocks that indicate the water levels.
  • Stream sampling in the School Branch watershed.
  • What appears to be a lush blanket of ground cover is in fact a major infestation of South American Water Hyacinth.
  • Small snails on a river bed.
  • Group of people in a desalination facility.
  • Clear creek runs through grassy valley at sunrise.

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