I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3747 

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

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 7, 2009 

Ms. BERKLEY (for herself and Ms. TITUS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition 

to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

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— 


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1 (1)(A) human-induced climate change is affect2 ing the natural water cycle, decreasing precipitation 

3 levels in the West, especially the Southwest, and 

4 making droughts and floods more frequent and more 

5 intense; 

6 (B) declining precipitation levels will severely 

7 impact water supplies in Southwestern States; and 

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

9 very heavy precipitation throughout the Northeast 

10 and the Midwest will stress aging water infrastruc11 ture; 

12 (2) changes in the water cycle caused by cli13 mate disruptions will adversely affect water infra14 structure, energy production and use, human health, 

15 transportation, agriculture, and ecosystems, while 

16 also aggravating water disputes across the United 

17 States; 

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

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

20 drought in over 100 years of recordkeeping; and 

21 (B) the primary reservoirs of the Colorado 

22 River Basin and Lakes Mead and Powell have lost 

23 nearly half of the storage waters of the reservoirs 

24 and lakes, and clean hydropower generated from 


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1 Hoover Dam risks reduction if the extended drought 

2 persists; 

3 (4) States and local governments and water 

4 utilities can begin to address the challenges de5 scribed in this section by providing incentives for 

6 water efficiency and conservation, while also plan7 ning and investing in infrastructure to adapt to the 

8 impacts of climate change, particularly those im9 pacts already affecting the United States; 

10 (5) residential water demand can be reduced by 

11 25 to 40 percent using existing, cost-effective tech12 nologies that also can reduce the water bills of con13 sumers by hundreds of dollars per year; and 

14 (6) water and energy use are inseparable activi15 ties, and supplying and treating water consumes 

16 around 4 percent of the electricity of the United 

17 States, and electricity makes up 75 percent of the 

18 cost of processing and delivering municipal water. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF ADMINISTRATOR. 

20 In this Act, the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad21 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. 

22 SEC. 4. WATERSENSE. 

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

24 Environmental Protection Agency a WaterSense program 


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1 to identify and promote water efficient products, build2 ings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services so as— 

3 (1) to reduce water use; 

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

5 and stormwater infrastructure; 

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

7 transport, and treat water; and 

8 (4) to preserve water resources for future gen9 erations, through voluntary labeling of, or other 

10 forms of communications about, products, buildings, 

11 landscapes, facilities, processes, and services that 

12 meet the highest water efficiency and performance 

13 criteria. 

14 (b) DUTIES.—The Administrator shall— 

15 (1) establish— 

16 (A) a WaterSense label to be used for cer17 tain items; and 

18 (B) the procedure by which an item may 

19 be certified to display the WaterSense label; 

20 (2) promote WaterSense-labeled products, 

21 buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and serv22 ices in the marketplace as the preferred technologies 

23 and services for— 

24 (A) reducing water use; and 


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1 (B) ensuring product and service perform2 ance; 

3 (3) work to enhance public awareness of the 

4 WaterSense label through public outreach, edu5 cation, and other means; 

6 (4) preserve the integrity of the WaterSense 

7 label by— 

8 (A) establishing and maintaining perform9 ance criteria so that products, buildings, land10 scapes, facilities, processes, and services labeled 

11 with the WaterSense label perform as well or 

12 better than less water-efficient counterparts; 

13 (B) overseeing WaterSense certifications 

14 made by third parties; 

15 (C) conducting reviews of the use of the 

16 WaterSense label in the marketplace and taking 

17 corrective action in any case in which misuse of 

18 the label is identified; and 

19 (D) carrying out such other measures as 

20 the Administrator determines to be appropriate; 

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

22 WaterSense criteria for categories of products, build23 ings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services, 

24 at least once every 4 years; 


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1 (6) to the maximum extent practicable, regu2 larly estimate and make available to the public the 

3 production and relative market shares of, and the 

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

5 wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure attrib6 utable to the use of WaterSense-labeled products, 

7 buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and serv8 ices, at least annually; 

9 (7) solicit comments from interested parties and 

10 the public prior to establishing or revising a 

11 WaterSense category, specification, installation cri12 terion, or other criterion (or prior to effective dates 

13 for any such category, specification, installation cri14 terion, or other criterion); 

15 (8) provide reasonable notice to interested par16 ties and the public of any changes (including effec17 tive dates), on the adoption of a new or revised cat18 egory, specification, installation criterion, or other 

19 criterion, along with— 

20 (A) an explanation of the changes; and 

21 (B) as appropriate, responses to comments 

22 submitted by interested parties and the public; 

23 (9) provide appropriate lead time (as deter24 mined by the Administrator) prior to the applicable 

25 effective date for a new or significant revision to a 


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1 category, specification, installation criterion, or other 

2 criterion, taking into account the timing require3 ments of the manufacturing, marketing, training, 

4 and distribution process for the specific product, 

5 building and landscape, or service category ad6 dressed; 

7 (10) identify and, if appropriate, implement 

8 other voluntary approaches in commercial, institu9 tional, residential, industrial, and municipal sectors 

10 to encourage recycling and reuse technologies to im11 prove water efficiency or lower water use; and 

12 (11) if appropriate, apply the WaterSense label 

13 to water-using products that are labeled by the En14 ergy Star program implemented by the Adminis15 trator and the Secretary of Energy. 

16 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec18 tion— 

19 (1) $7,500,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

20 (2) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

21 (3) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

22 (4) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

23 (5) for each subsequent fiscal year, the applica24 ble amount during the preceding fiscal year, as ad25 justed to reflect changes for the 12-month period 


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1 ending the preceding November 30 in the Consumer 

2 Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by 

3 the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of 

4 Labor. 

5 SEC. 5. STATE RESIDENTIAL WATER EFFICIENCY AND CON6 SERVATION INCENTIVES PROGRAM. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti9 ty’’ means a State government, local or county gov10 ernment, tribal government, wastewater or sewerage 

11 utility, municipal water authority, energy utility, 

12 water utility, or nonprofit organization that meets 

13 the requirements of subsection (b). 

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

15 program’’ means a program for administering finan16 cial incentives for consumer purchase and installa17 tion of water-efficient products, buildings (including 

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

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

20 (3) RESIDENTIAL WATER-EFFICIENT PRODUCT, 

21 BUILDING, LANDSCAPE, PROCESS, OR SERVICE.— 

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

23 water-efficient product, building, landscape, 

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

25 landscape, process, or service for a residence or 


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1 its landscape that is rated for water efficiency 

2 and performance— 

3 (i) by the WaterSense program; or 

4 (ii) if a WaterSense specification does 

5 not exist, by the Energy Star program or 

6 an incentive program approved by the Ad7 ministrator. 

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

9 water-efficient product, building, landscape, 

10 process, or service’’ includes— 

11 (i) faucets; 

12 (ii) irrigation technologies and serv13 ices; 

14 (iii) point-of-use water treatment de15 vices; 

16 (iv) reuse and recycling technologies; 

17 (v) toilets; 

18 (vi) clothes washers; 

19 (vii) dishwashers; 

20 (viii) showerheads; 

21 (ix) xeriscaping and other landscape 

22 conversions that replace irrigated turf; and 

23 (x) new water efficient homes certified 

24 under the WaterSense program. 


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1 (4) WATERSENSE PROGRAM.—The term 

2 ‘‘WaterSense program’’ means the program estab3 lished by section 4. 

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

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

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

7 program to provide financial incentives to residential 

8 consumers for the purchase of residential water-effi9 cient products, buildings, landscapes, processes, or 

10 services; 

11 (2) submits an application for the allocation at 

12 such time, in such form, and containing such infor13 mation as the Administrator may require; and 

14 (3) provides assurances satisfactory to the Ad15 ministrator that the entity will use the allocation to 

16 supplement, but not supplant, funds made available 

17 to carry out the incentive program. 

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

19 the Administrator shall determine the amount to allocate 

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

21 into consideration— 

22 (1) the population served by the eligible entity 

23 during the most recent calendar year for which data 

24 are available; 


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1 (2) the targeted population of the incentive pro2 gram of the eligible entity, such as general house3 holds, low-income households, or first-time home4 owners, and the probable effectiveness of the incen5 tive program for that population; 

6 (3) for existing programs, the effectiveness of 

7 the program in encouraging the adoption of water8 efficient products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, 

9 processes, and services; 

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

11 preceding fiscal year that remains unused; and 

12 (5) the per capita water demand of the popu13 lation served by the eligible entity during the most 

14 recent calendar year for which data are available 

15 and the accessibility of water supplies to the eligible 

16 entity. 

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

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

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

20 out an incentive program. 

21 (e) FIXTURE RECYCLING.—Eligible entities are en22 couraged to promote or implement fixture recycling pro23 grams to manage the disposal of older fixtures replaced 

24 due to the incentive program under this section. 

25 (f) ISSUANCE OF INCENTIVES.— 


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

2 provided to residential consumers that meet the re3 quirements of the applicable incentive program. 

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

5 may— 

6 (A) issue all financial incentives directly to 

7 residential consumers; or 

8 (B) with approval of the Administrator, 

9 delegate all or part of financial incentive admin10 istration to other organizations, including local 

11 governments, municipal water authorities, water 

12 utilities, and nonprofit organizations. 

13 (3) AMOUNT.—The amount of a financial in14 centive shall be determined by the eligible entity, 

15 taking into consideration— 

16 (A) the amount of any Federal or State 

17 tax incentive available for the purchase of the 

18 residential water-efficient product or service; 

19 (B) the amount necessary to change con20 sumer behavior to purchase water-efficient 

21 products and services; and 

22 (C) the consumer expenditures for onsite 

23 preparation, assembly, and original installation 

24 of the product. 


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1 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to 

3 carry out this section— 

4 (1) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

5 (2) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

6 (3) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

7 (4) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

8 (5) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

9 (6) for each subsequent fiscal year, the applica10 ble amount during the preceding fiscal year, as ad11 justed to reflect changes for the 12-month period 

12 ending the preceding November 30 in the Consumer 

13 Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by 

14 the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of 

15 Labor. 

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

17 ADAPTATION. 

18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) ABRUPT CLIMATE CHANGE.—The term ‘‘ab20 rupt climate change’’ means a large-scale change in 

21 the climate system that— 

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

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

24 for at least a few decades; and 


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1 (C) causes substantial disruptions in 

2 human and natural systems. 

3 (2) OWNER OR OPERATOR.— 

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

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

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

7 owns or operates a water system. 

8 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘owner or op9 erator’’ includes a non-Federal entity that has 

10 operational responsibilities for a federally owned 

11 water system. 

12 (3) WATER SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘water sys13 tem’’ means— 

14 (A) a community water system (as defined 

15 in section 1401 of the Safe Drinking Water Act 

16 (42 U.S.C. 300f)); 

17 (B) a publicly owned treatment works (as 

18 defined in section 212 of the Federal Water 

19 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1292)), in20 cluding a municipal separate storm sewer sys21 tem; 

22 (C) a decentralized wastewater treatment 

23 system for domestic sewage; 

24 (D) a groundwater storage and replenish25 ment system; or 


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1 (E) a system for transport and delivery of 

2 water for irrigation or conservation. 

3 (b) GRANTS.—Beginning in fiscal year 2010, the Ad4 ministrator shall make grants to owners or operators of 

5 water systems to address any ongoing or forecasted (based 

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

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

8 United States, for the purposes of mitigating or adapting 

9 to the impacts of climate change. 

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

11 the Administrator shall make grants to assist in the plan12 ning, design, construction, implementation, or mainte13 nance of any program or project to increase the resilience 

14 of a water system to climate change by— 

15 (1) conserving water or enhancing water use ef16 ficiency, including through the use of water metering 

17 to measure the effectiveness of a water efficiency 

18 program; 

19 (2) modifying or relocating existing water sys20 tem infrastructure made or projected to be made in21 operable by climate change impacts; 

22 (3) preserving or improving water quality, in23 cluding through measures to manage, reduce, treat, 

24 or reuse municipal stormwater, wastewater, or 

25 drinking water; 


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1 (4) investigating, designing, or constructing 

2 groundwater remediation, recycled water, or desali3 nation facilities or systems; 

4 (5) enhancing water management by increasing 

5 watershed preservation and protection, such as 

6 through the use of natural or engineered green in7 frastructure in the management, conveyance, or 

8 treatment of water, wastewater, or stormwater; 

9 (6) enhancing energy efficiency or the use and 

10 generation of renewable energy in the management, 

11 conveyance, or treatment of water, wastewater, or 

12 stormwater; 

13 (7) supporting the adoption and use of ad14 vanced water treatment, water supply management 

15 (such as reservoir reoperation), or water demand 

16 management technologies, projects, or processes 

17 (such as water reuse and recycling or adaptive con18 servation pricing) that maintain or increase water 

19 supply or improve water quality; 

20 (8) modifying or replacing existing systems or 

21 constructing new systems for existing communities 

22 or land currently in agricultural production to im23 prove water availability, storage, or conveyance in a 

24 manner that— 


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1 (A) promotes more efficient use of avail2 able water supplies; and 

3 (B) does not further exacerbate stresses on 

4 ecosystems; 

5 (9) supporting practices and projects, such as 

6 improved irrigation systems, water banking and 

7 other forms of water transactions, groundwater re8 charge, stormwater capture, and reuse or recycling 

9 of drainage water, to improve water quality or pro10 mote more efficient water use, including on land cur11 rently in agricultural production; 

12 (10) conducting and completing studies or as13 sessments to project how climate change may impact 

14 the future operations and sustainability of water sys15 tems; or 

16 (11) developing and implementing mitigation 

17 measures to rapidly address impacts on water sys18 tems most susceptible to abrupt climate change, in19 cluding those in the Colorado River Basin and coast20 al regions at risk from rising sea levels. 

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

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

23 or operator of a water system shall submit to the Adminis24 trator an application that— 


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1 (1) includes a proposal of the program, strat2 egy, or infrastructure improvement to be planned, 

3 designed, constructed, implemented, or maintained 

4 by the water system; 

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

6 demonstrates— 

7 (A) the risk to the water resources or in8 frastructure of the water system as a result of 

9 ongoing or forecasted changes to the 

10 hydrological system brought about by factors 

11 arising from climate change, including rising 

12 sea levels and changes in precipitation levels; 

13 and 

14 (B) how the proposed program, strategy, 

15 or infrastructure improvement would perform 

16 under the anticipated climate conditions; 

17 (3) explains how the proposed program, strat18 egy, or infrastructure improvement is expected to 

19 enhance the resiliency of the water system, including 

20 source water protection for community water sys21 tems, to these risks or reduce the direct or indirect 

22 greenhouse gas emissions of the water system; and 

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

24 infrastructure improvement is— 


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1 (A) consistent with any approved State 

2 and tribal climate adaptation plan; and 

3 (B) not inconsistent with any approved 

4 natural resources plan. 

5 (e) COMPETITIVE PROCESS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each calendar year, the Ad7 ministrator shall conduct a competitive process to 

8 select and fund applications under this section. 

9 (2) PRIORITY REQUIREMENTS AND

10 WEIGHTING.—In carrying out the process, the Ad11 ministrator shall— 

12 (A) prioritize funding of applications that 

13 are submitted by the owners or operators of 

14 water systems that are, based on the best avail15 able research and data, at the greatest and 

16 most immediate risk of facing significant cli17 mate-related negative impacts on water quality 

18 or quantity; 

19 (B) in selecting among the priority applica20 tions determined under subparagraph (A), en21 sure that the final list of applications funded 

22 for each year includes a substantial number 

23 that, to the maximum extent practicable, in24 cludes each eligible use described in subsection 

25 (c); 


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1 (C) solicit applications from water systems 

2 that are— 

3 (i) located in all regions of the United 

4 States; and 

5 (ii) facing varying risks as a result of 

6 climate change; and 

7 (D) provide for solicitation and consider8 ation of public input in the development of cri9 teria used in evaluating applications. 

10 (f) COST SHARING.— 

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

12 the cost of any program, strategy, or infrastructure 

13 improvement that is the subject of a grant awarded 

14 by the Administrator to a water system under sub15 section (b) shall not exceed 50 percent of the cost 

16 of the program, strategy, and infrastructure im17 provement. 

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

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

20 a program, strategy, or infrastructure improvement 

21 proposed by a water system through an application 

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

23 the Administrator shall— 

24 (A) include the value of any in-kind serv25 ices that are integral to the completion of the 


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1 program, strategy, or infrastructure improve2 ment, as determined by the Administrator; and 

3 (B) not include any other amount that the 

4 water system receives from a Federal agency. 

5 (g) LABOR STANDARDS.— 

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

7 employed on infrastructure improvements funded di8 rectly by or assisted in whole or in part by this sec9 tion shall be paid wages at rates not less than those 

10 prevailing for the same type of work on similar con11 struction in the immediate locality, as determined by 

12 the Secretary of Labor in accordance with sub13 chapter IV of chapter 31 of part A of subtitle II of 

14 title 40, United States Code. 

15 (2) AUTHORITY AND FUNCTIONS.—With re16 spect to the labor standards in this subsection, the 

17 Secretary of Labor shall have the authority and 

18 functions set forth in Reorganization Plan Num19 bered 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) 

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

21 (h) REGULATIONS.— 

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

23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

24 shall promulgate final regulations to carry out this 

25 section. 


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1 (2) SPECIAL RULE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF

2 TREATMENT WORKS.—In carrying out this sub3 section, the Administrator shall incorporate all rel4 evant and appropriate requirements of title VI of the 

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

6 1381 et seq.) applicable to the construction of treat7 ment works that are carried out under this section. 

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

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

10 thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the Congress 

11 a report on progress in implementing this section, includ12 ing information on project applications received and fund13 ed annually. 

14 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

16 such sums as are necessary. 

Æ 


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