II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1712 

To promote water efficiency, conservation, and adaptation, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2009 

Mr. REID (for himself, Mrs. BOXER, and Mr. CARDIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To promote water efficiency, conservation, and adaptation, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Water Efficiency, Con5 servation, and Adaptation Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1)(A) human-induced climate change is affect9 ing the natural water cycle, decreasing precipitation 

10 levels in the West, especially the Southwest, and 


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1 making droughts and floods more frequent and more 

2 intense; 

3 (B) declining precipitation levels will severely 

4 impact water supplies in Southwestern States; and 

5 (C) a sharp increase in the number of days with 

6 very heavy precipitation throughout the Northeast 

7 and the Midwest will stress aging water infrastruc8 ture; 

9 (2) changes in the water cycle caused by cli10 mate disruptions will adversely affect water infra11 structure, energy production and use, human health, 

12 transportation, agriculture, and ecosystems, while 

13 also aggravating water disputes across the United 

14 States; 

15 (3)(A) the Colorado River, which supplies water 

16 for over 30,000,000 people, is experiencing the worst 

17 drought in over 100 years of recordkeeping; and 

18 (B) the primary reservoirs of the Colorado 

19 River Basin and Lakes Mead and Powell have lost 

20 nearly half of the storage waters of the reservoirs 

21 and Lakes, and clean hydropower generated from 

22 Hoover Dam risks reduction if the extended drought 

23 persists; 

24 (4) States and local governments and water 

25 utilities can begin to address the challenges deVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:57 Sep 25, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1712.IS S1712

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1 scribed in this section by providing incentives for 

2 water efficiency and conservation, while also plan3 ning and investing in infrastructure to adapt to the 

4 impacts of climate change, particularly those im5 pacts already affecting the United States; 

6 (5) residential water demand can be reduced by 

7 25 to 40 percent using existing, cost-effective tech8 nologies that also can reduce the water bills of con9 sumers by hundreds of dollars per year; and 

10 (6) water and energy use are inseparable activi11 ties, and supplying and treating water consumes 

12 around 4 percent of the electricity of the United 

13 States, and electricity makes up 75 percent of the 

14 cost of processing and delivering municipal water. 

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF ADMINISTRATOR. 

16 In this Act, the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad17 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. 

18 SEC. 4. WATERSENSE. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established within the 

20 Environmental Protection Agency a WaterSense program 

21 to identify and promote water efficient products, build22 ings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services so as— 

23 (1) to reduce water use; 

24 (2) to reduce the strain on water, wastewater, 

25 and stormwater infrastructure; 


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1 (3) to conserve energy used to pump, heat, 

2 transport, and treat water; and 

3 (4) to preserve water resources for future gen4 erations, through voluntary labeling of, or other 

5 forms of communications about, products, buildings, 

6 landscapes, facilities, processes, and services that 

7 meet the highest water efficiency and performance 

8 criteria. 

9 (b) DUTIES.—The Administrator shall— 

10 (1) establish— 

11 (A) a WaterSense label to be used for cer12 tain items; and 

13 (B) the procedure by which an item may 

14 be certified to display the WaterSense label; 

15 (2) promote WaterSense-labeled products, 

16 buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and serv17 ices in the market place as the preferred tech18 nologies and services for— 

19 (A) reducing water use; and 

20 (B) ensuring product and service perform21 ance; 

22 (3) work to enhance public awareness of the 

23 WaterSense label through public outreach, edu24 cation, and other means; 


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1 (4) preserve the integrity of the WaterSense 

2 label by— 

3 (A) establishing and maintaining perform4 ance criteria so that products, buildings, land5 scapes, facilities, processes, and services labeled 

6 with the WaterSense label perform as well or 

7 better than less water-efficient counterparts; 

8 (B) overseeing WaterSense certifications 

9 made by third parties; 

10 (C) conducting reviews of the use of the 

11 WaterSense label in the marketplace and taking 

12 corrective action in any case in which misuse of 

13 the label is identified; and 

14 (D) carrying out such other measures as 

15 the Administrator determines to be appropriate; 

16 (5) regularly review and, if appropriate, update 

17 WaterSense criteria for categories of products, build18 ings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services, 

19 at least once every 4 years; 

20 (6) to the maximum extent practicable, regu21 larly estimate and make available to the public the 

22 production and relative market shares of, and the 

23 savings of water, energy, and capital costs of water, 

24 wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure attrib25 utable to the use of WaterSense-labeled products, 


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1 buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and serv2 ices, at least annually; 

3 (7) solicit comments from interested parties and 

4 the public prior to establishing or revising a 

5 WaterSense category, specification, installation cri6 terion, or other criterion (or prior to effective dates 

7 for any such category, specification, installation cri8 terion, or other criterion); 

9 (8) provide reasonable notice to interested par10 ties and the public of any changes (including effec11 tive dates), on the adoption of a new or revised cat12 egory, specification, installation criterion, or other 

13 criterion, along with— 

14 (A) an explanation of the changes; and 

15 (B) as appropriate, responses to comments 

16 submitted by interested parties and the public; 

17 (9) provide appropriate lead time (as deter18 mined by the Administrator) prior to the applicable 

19 effective date for a new or significant revision to a 

20 category, specification, installation criterion, or other 

21 criterion, taking into account the timing require22 ments of the manufacturing, marketing, training, 

23 and distribution process for the specific product, 

24 building and landscape, or service category ad25 dressed; 


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1 (10) identify and, if appropriate, implement 

2 other voluntary approaches in commercial, institu3 tional, residential, industrial, and municipal sectors 

4 to encourage recycling and reuse technologies to im5 prove water efficiency or lower water use; and 

6 (11) if appropriate, apply the WaterSense label 

7 to water-using products that are labeled by the En8 ergy Star program implemented by the Adminis9 trator and the Secretary of Energy. 

10 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec12 tion— 

13 (1) $7,500,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

14 (2) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

15 (3) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

16 (4) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

17 (5) for each subsequent fiscal year, the applica18 ble amount during the preceding fiscal year, as ad19 justed to reflect changes for the 12-month period 

20 ending the preceding November 30 in the Consumer 

21 Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by 

22 the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of 

23 Labor. 


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1 SEC. 5. STATE RESIDENTIAL WATER EFFICIENCY AND CON2 SERVATION INCENTIVES PROGRAM. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti5 ty’’ means a State government, local or county gov6 ernment, tribal government, wastewater or sewerage 

7 utility, municipal water authority, energy utility, 

8 water utility, or nonprofit organization that meets 

9 the requirements of subsection (b). 

10 (2) INCENTIVE PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘incentive 

11 program’’ means a program for administering finan12 cial incentives for consumer purchase and installa13 tion of water-efficient products, buildings (including 

14 new water-efficient homes), landscapes, processes, or 

15 services described in subsection (b)(1). 

16 (3) RESIDENTIAL WATER-EFFICIENT PRODUCT, 

17 BUILDING, LANDSCAPE, PROCESS, OR SERVICE.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘residential 

19 water-efficient product, building, landscape, 

20 process, or service’’ means a product, building, 

21 landscape, process, or service for a residence or 

22 its landscape that is rated for water efficiency 

23 and performance— 

24 (i) by the WaterSense program; or 

25 (ii) if a WaterSense specification does 

26 not exist, by the Energy Star program or 


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1 an incentive program approved by the Ad2 ministrator. 

3 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘residential 

4 water-efficient product, building, landscape, 

5 process, or service’’ includes— 

6 (i) faucets; 

7 (ii) irrigation technologies and serv8 ices; 

9 (iii) point-of-use water treatment de10 vices; 

11 (iv) reuse and recycling technologies; 

12 (v) toilets; 

13 (vi) clothes washers; 

14 (vii) dishwashers; 

15 (viii) showerheads; 

16 (ix) xeriscaping and other landscape 

17 conversions that replace irrigated turf; and 

18 (x) new water efficient homes certified 

19 under the WaterSense program. 

20 (4) WATERSENSE PROGRAM.—The term 

21 ‘‘WaterSense program’’ means the program estab22 lished by section 4. 

23 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity shall be eligible 

24 to receive an allocation under subsection (c) if the entity— 


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1 (1) establishes (or has established) an incentive 

2 program to provide financial incentives to residential 

3 consumers for the purchase of residential water-effi4 cient products, buildings, landscapes, processes, or 

5 services; 

6 (2) submits an application for the allocation at 

7 such time, in such form, and containing such infor8 mation as the Administrator may require; and 

9 (3) provides assurances satisfactory to the Ad10 ministrator that the entity will use the allocation to 

11 supplement, but not supplant, funds made available 

12 to carry out the incentive program. 

13 (c) AMOUNT OF ALLOCATIONS.—For each fiscal year, 

14 the Administrator shall determine the amount to allocate 

15 to each eligible entity to carry out subsection (d), taking 

16 into consideration— 

17 (1) the population served by the eligible entity 

18 during the most recent calendar year for which data 

19 are available; 

20 (2) the targeted population of the incentive pro21 gram of the eligible entity, such as general house22 holds, low-income households, or first-time home23 owners, and the probable effectiveness of the incen24 tive program for that population; 


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1 (3) for existing programs, the effectiveness of 

2 the program in encouraging the adoption of water3 efficient products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, 

4 processes, and services; 

5 (4) any allocation to the eligible entity for a 

6 preceding fiscal year that remains unused; and 

7 (5) the per capita water demand of the popu8 lation served by the eligible entity during the most 

9 recent calendar year for which data are available 

10 and the accessibility of water supplies to the eligible 

11 entity. 

12 (d) USE OF ALLOCATED FUNDS.—Funds allocated to 

13 an eligible entity under subsection (c) may be used to pay 

14 up to 50 percent of the cost of establishing and carrying 

15 out an incentive program. 

16 (e) FIXTURE RECYCLING.—Eligible entities are en17 couraged to promote or implement fixture recycling pro18 grams to manage the disposal of older fixtures replaced 

19 due to the incentive program under this section. 

20 (f) ISSUANCE OF INCENTIVES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Financial incentives may be 

22 provided to residential consumers that meet the re23 quirements of the applicable incentive program. 

24 (2) MANNER OF ISSUANCE.—An eligible entity 

25 may— 


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1 (A) issue all financial incentives directly to 

2 residential consumers; or 

3 (B) with approval of the Administrator, 

4 delegate all or part of financial incentive admin5 istration to other organizations, including local 

6 governments, municipal water authorities, water 

7 utilities, and nonprofit organizations. 

8 (3) AMOUNT.—The amount of a financial in9 centive shall be determined by the eligible entity, 

10 taking into consideration— 

11 (A) the amount of any Federal or State 

12 tax incentive available for the purchase of the 

13 residential water-efficient product or service; 

14 (B) the amount necessary to change con15 sumer behavior to purchase water-efficient 

16 products and services; and 

17 (C) the consumer expenditures for onsite 

18 preparation, assembly, and original installation 

19 of the product. 

20 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to 

22 carry out this section— 

23 (1) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

24 (2) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

25 (3) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 


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1 (4) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

2 (5) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

3 (6) for each subsequent fiscal year, the applica4 ble amount during the preceding fiscal year, as ad5 justed to reflect changes for the 12-month period 

6 ending the preceding November 30 in the Consumer 

7 Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by 

8 the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of 

9 Labor. 

10 SEC. 6. BLUE BANK FOR WATER SYSTEM MITIGATION AND 

11 ADAPTATION. 

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) ABRUPT CLIMATE CHANGE.—The term ‘‘ab14 rupt climate change’’ means a large-scale change in 

15 the climate system that— 

16 (A) takes place over a few decades or less; 

17 (B) persists (or is anticipated to persist) 

18 for at least a few decades; and 

19 (C) causes substantial disruptions in 

20 human and natural systems. 

21 (2) OWNER OR OPERATOR.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘owner or 

23 operator’’ means a person (including a regional, 

24 State, local, municipal, or private entity) that 

25 owns or operates a water system. 


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1 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘owner or op2 erator’’ includes a non-Federal entity that has 

3 operational responsibilities for a federally owned 

4 water system. 

5 (3) WATER SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘water sys6 tem’’ means— 

7 (A) a community water system (as defined 

8 in section 1401 of the Safe Drinking Water Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 300f)); 

10 (B) a publicly owned treatment works (as 

11 defined in section 212 of the Federal Water 

12 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1292)), in13 cluding a municipal separate storm sewer sys14 tem; 

15 (C) a decentralized wastewater treatment 

16 system for domestic sewage; 

17 (D) a groundwater storage and replenish18 ment system; or 

19 (E) a system for transport and delivery of 

20 water for irrigation or conservation. 

21 (b) GRANTS.—Beginning in fiscal year 2010, the Ad22 ministrator shall make grants to owners or operators of 

23 water systems to address any ongoing or forecasted (based 

24 on the best available research and data) climate-related 

25 impact on the water quality or quantity of a region of the 


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1 United States, for the purposes of mitigating or adapting 

2 to the impacts of climate change. 

3 (c) ELIGIBLE USES.—In carrying out this section, 

4 the Administrator shall make grants to assist in the plan5 ning, design, construction, implementation, or mainte6 nance of any program or project to increase the resilience 

7 of a water system to climate change by— 

8 (1) conserving water or enhancing water use ef9 ficiency, including through the use of water metering 

10 to measure the effectiveness of a water efficiency 

11 program; 

12 (2) modifying or relocating existing water sys13 tem infrastructure made or projected to be made in14 operable by climate change impacts; 

15 (3) preserving or improving water quality, in16 cluding through measures to manage, reduce, treat, 

17 or reuse municipal stormwater, wastewater, or 

18 drinking water; 

19 (4) investigating, designing, or constructing 

20 groundwater remediation, recycled water, or desali21 nation facilities or systems; 

22 (5) enhancing water management by increasing 

23 watershed preservation and protection, such as 

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1 frastructure in the management, conveyance, or 

2 treatment of water, wastewater, or stormwater; 

3 (6) enhancing energy efficiency or the use and 

4 generation of renewable energy in the management, 

5 conveyance, or treatment of water, wastewater, or 

6 stormwater; 

7 (7) supporting the adoption and use of ad8 vanced water treatment, water supply management 

9 (such as reservoir reoperation), or water demand 

10 management technologies, projects, or processes 

11 (such as water reuse and recycling or adaptive con12 servation pricing) that maintain or increase water 

13 supply or improve water quality; 

14 (8) modifying or replacing existing systems or 

15 constructing new systems for existing communities 

16 or land currently in agricultural production to im17 prove water availability, storage, or conveyance in a 

18 manner that— 

19 (A) promotes more efficient use of avail20 able water supplies; and 

21 (B) does not further exacerbate stresses on 

22 ecosystems; 

23 (9) supporting practices and projects, such as 

24 improved irrigation systems, water banking and 

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1 charge, stormwater capture, and reuse or recycling 

2 of drainage water, to improve water quality or pro3 mote more efficient water use, including on land cur4 rently in agricultural production; 

5 (10) conducting and completing studies or as6 sessments to project how climate change may impact 

7 the future operations and sustainability of water sys8 tems; or 

9 (11) developing and implementing mitigation 

10 measures to rapidly address impacts on water sys11 tems most susceptible to abrupt climate change, in12 cluding those in the Colorado River Basin and coast13 al regions at risk from rising sea levels. 

14 (d) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

15 from the Administrator under subsection (b), the owner 

16 or operator of a water system shall submit to the Adminis17 trator an application that— 

18 (1) includes a proposal of the program, strat19 egy, or infrastructure improvement to be planned, 

20 designed, constructed, implemented, or maintained 

21 by the water system; 

22 (2) cites the best available research or data that 

23 demonstrates— 

24 (A) the risk to the water resources or in25 frastructure of the water system as a result of 


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1 ongoing or forecasted changes to the 

2 hydrological system brought about by factors 

3 arising from climate change, including rising 

4 sea levels and changes in precipitation levels; 

5 and 

6 (B) how the proposed program, strategy, 

7 or infrastructure improvement would perform 

8 under the anticipated climate conditions; 

9 (3) explains how the proposed program, strat10 egy, or infrastructure improvement is expected to 

11 enhance the resiliency of the water system, including 

12 source water protection for community water sys13 tems, to these risks or reduce the direct or indirect 

14 greenhouse gas emissions of the water system; and 

15 (4) demonstrates that the program, strategy, or 

16 infrastructure improvement is— 

17 (A) consistent with any approved State 

18 and tribal climate adaptation plan; and 

19 (B) not inconsistent with any approved 

20 natural resources plan. 

21 (e) COMPETITIVE PROCESS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each calendar year, the Ad23 ministrator shall conduct a competitive process to 

24 select and fund applications under this section. 


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1 (2) PRIORITY REQUIREMENTS AND

2 WEIGHTING.—In carrying out the process, the Ad3 ministrator shall— 

4 (A) prioritize funding of applications that 

5 are submitted by the owners or operators of 

6 water systems that are, based on the best avail7 able research and data, at the greatest and 

8 most immediate risk of facing significant cli9 mate-related negative impacts on water quality 

10 or quantity; 

11 (B) in selecting among the priority applica12 tions determined under subparagraph (A), en13 sure that the final list of applications funded 

14 for each year includes a substantial number 

15 that, to the maximum extent practicable, in16 cludes each eligible use described in subsection 

17 (c); 

18 (C) solicit applications from water systems 

19 that are— 

20 (i) located in all regions of the United 

21 States; and 

22 (ii) facing varying risks as a result of 

23 climate change; and 


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1 (D) provide for solicitation and consider2 ation of public input in the development of cri3 teria used in evaluating applications. 

4 (f) COST SHARING.— 

5 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

6 the cost of any program, strategy, or infrastructure 

7 improvement that is the subject of a grant awarded 

8 by the Administrator to a water system under sub9 section (b) shall not exceed 50 percent of the cost 

10 of the program, strategy, and infrastructure im11 provement. 

12 (2) CALCULATION OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

13 In calculating the non-Federal share of the cost of 

14 a program, strategy, or infrastructure improvement 

15 proposed by a water system through an application 

16 submitted by the water system under subsection (d), 

17 the Administrator shall— 

18 (A) include the value of any in-kind serv19 ices that are integral to the completion of the 

20 program, strategy, or infrastructure improve21 ment, as determined by the Administrator; and 

22 (B) not include any other amount that the 

23 water system receives from a Federal agency. 

24 (g) LABOR STANDARDS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—All laborers and mechanics 

2 employed on infrastructure improvements funded di3 rectly by or assisted in whole or in part by this sec4 tion shall be paid wages at rates not less than those 

5 prevailing for the same type of work on similar con6 struction in the immediate locality, as determined by 

7 the Secretary of Labor in accordance with sub8 chapter IV of chapter 31 of part A of subtitle II of 

9 title 40, United States Code. 

10 (2) AUTHORITY AND FUNCTIONS.—With re11 spect to the labor standards in this subsection, the 

12 Secretary of Labor shall have the authority and 

13 functions set forth in Reorganization Plan Num14 bered 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) 

15 and section 3145 of title 40, United States Code. 

16 (h) REGULATIONS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

19 shall promulgate final regulations to carry out this 

20 section. 

21 (2) SPECIAL RULE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF

22 TREATMENT WORKS.—In carrying out this sub23 section, the Administrator shall incorporate all rel24 evant and appropriate requirements of title VI of the 

25 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 


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1 1381 et seq.) applicable to the construction of treat2 ment works that are carried out under this section. 

3 (i) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 years 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 3 years 

5 thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the Congress 

6 a report on progress in implementing this section, includ7 ing information on project applications received and fund8 ed annually. 

9 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

11 such sums as are necessary. 

Æ 


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