I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 631 

To increase research, development, education, and technology transfer activities related to water use efficiency and conservation technologies and 

practices at the Environmental Protection Agency. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 22, 2009 

Mr. MATHESON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Science and Technology 

A BILL 

To increase research, development, education, and technology 

transfer activities related to water use efficiency and 

conservation technologies and practices at the Environmental Protection Agency. 

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 Use Efficiency 

5 and Conservation Research Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Between 1950 and 2000, the United States 

2 population increased nearly 90 percent. In that same 

3 period, public demand for water increased 209 per4 cent. Americans now use an average of 100 gallons 

5 of water per person each day. This increased de6 mand has put additional stress on water supplies 

7 and distribution systems, threatening both human 

8 health and the environment. 

9 (2) Thirty-six States are anticipating local, re10 gional, or statewide water shortages by 2013. In ad11 dition, climate change related effects are expected to 

12 exacerbate already scarce water resources in many 

13 areas of the country. 

14 (3) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 

15 Change’s 2007 assessment states that water stored 

16 in glaciers and snow cover is projected to decline, re17 ducing water availability to one-sixth of the world’s 

18 population that relies upon meltwater from major 

19 mountain ranges. The Intergovernmental Panel on 

20 Climate Change also predicts droughts will become 

21 more severe and longer lasting in a number of re22 gions. 

23 (4) Water conservation should be a national 

24 goal and the Environmental Protection Agency 

25 should work with nongovernmental partners to 


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1 achieve that goal. The Environmental Protection 

2 Agency should support the research, development, 

3 and dissemination of technologies and processes that 

4 will achieve greater water use efficiency. 

5 (5) WaterSense is a voluntary public-private 

6 partnership program established by the Environ7 mental Protection Agency to promote water effi8 ciency by helping consumers identify water-efficient 

9 products and practices. The Environmental Protec10 tion Agency estimates that if all United States 

11 households installed water-efficient appliances, the 

12 country would save more than 3,000,000,000,000 

13 gallons of water and more than $17,000,000,000 per 

14 year. 

15 (6) The WaterSense program has developed a 

16 network of partners, and therefore can disseminate 

17 the results of research on technologies and processes 

18 that achieve greater water use efficiency. 

19 SEC. 3. RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Administrator for 

21 Research and Development of the Environmental Protec22 tion Agency (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Assistant Ad23 ministrator’’) shall establish a research and development 

24 program consistent with the plan developed under section 


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1 4 that promotes water use efficiency and conservation, in2 cluding— 

3 (1) technologies and processes that enable the 

4 collection, storage, treatment, and reuse of rain5 water, stormwater, and greywater; 

6 (2) water storage and distribution systems; 

7 (3) behavioral, social, and economic barriers to 

8 achieving greater water use efficiency; and 

9 (4) use of watershed planning directed toward 

10 water quality, conservation, and supply. 

11 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In planning and imple12 menting the program, the Assistant Administrator shall 

13 consider— 

14 (1) research needs identified by water resource 

15 managers, State and local governments, and other 

16 interested parties; and 

17 (2) technologies and processes likely to achieve 

18 the greatest increases in water use efficiency and 

19 conservation. 

20 (c) MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS.—In the exe21 cution of this program, the Assistant Administrator may 

22 award extramural grants to institutions of higher edu23 cation and shall encourage participation by Minority Serv24 ing Institutions. 


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1 SEC. 4. STRATEGIC RESEARCH PLAN. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Administrator shall 

3 coordinate the development of a strategic research plan 

4 (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘plan’’) for the water use 

5 efficiency and conservation research and development pro6 gram established in section 3 with all other Environmental 

7 Protection Agency research and development strategic 

8 plans. 

9 (b) PLAN CONTENTS.—The plan shall— 

10 (1) outline research goals and priorities for a 

11 water use efficiency and conservation research agen12 da, including— 

13 (A) developing innovative water supply-en14 hancing processes and technologies; and 

15 (B) improving existing processes and tech16 nologies, including wastewater treatment, desa17 linization, and groundwater recharge and recov18 ery schemes; 

19 (2) identify current Federal research efforts on 

20 water that are directed toward meeting the goals of 

21 improving water use efficiency, water conservation, 

22 or expanding water supply and describe how such ef23 forts are coordinated with the program established 

24 in section 3 in order to leverage resources and avoid 

25 duplication; and 


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1 (3) consider and utilize, as appropriate, rec2 ommendations in reports and studies conducted by 

3 Federal agencies, the National Research Council, the 

4 National Science and Technology Council, or other 

5 entities in the development of the plan. 

6 (c) SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD REVIEW.—The As7 sistant Administrator shall submit the plan to the Science 

8 Advisory Board of the Environmental Protection Agency 

9 for review. 

10 (d) REVISION.—The plan shall be revised and amend11 ed as needed to reflect current scientific findings and na12 tional research priorities. 

13 SEC. 5. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER. 

14 The Assistant Administrator, building on the results 

15 of the activities of the program established under section 

16 3, shall— 

17 (1) facilitate the adoption of technology and 

18 processes to promote water use efficiency and con19 servation; and 

20 (2) collect and disseminate information, includ21 ing the establishment of a publicly accessible clear22 inghouse, on technologies and processes to promote 

23 water use efficiency and conservation, including in24 formation on— 


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1 (A) incentives and impediments to develop2 ment and commercialization; 

3 (B) best practices; and 

4 (C) anticipated increases in water use effi5 ciency and conservation resulting from the im6 plementation of specific technologies and proc7 esses. 

8 SEC. 6. ADVANCED WATER EFFICIENCY DEVELOPMENT 

9 PROJECTS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—As part of the program under sec11 tion 3, the Assistant Administrator shall carry out at least 

12 4 projects under which the funding is provided for the in13 corporation into a building of the latest water use effi14 ciency and conservation technologies and designs. Funding 

15 for each project shall be provided only to cover incremental 

16 costs of water-use efficiency and conservation technologies. 

17 (b) CRITERIA.—Of the 4 projects described in sub18 section (a), at least 1 shall be for a residential building 

19 and at least 1 shall be for a commercial building. 

20 (c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The designs of buildings 

21 with respect to which funding is provided under subsection 

22 (a) shall be made available to the public, and such build23 ings shall be accessible to the public for tours and edu24 cational purposes. 


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1 SEC. 7. REPORT. 

2 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, and once every 2 years thereafter, the Assist4 ant Administrator shall transmit to Congress a report 

5 which details the progress being made by the Environ6 mental Protection Agency with regard to— 

7 (1) water use efficiency and conservation re8 search projects initiated by the Agency; 

9 (2) development projects initiated by the Agen10 cy; 

11 (3) outreach and communication activities con12 ducted by the Agency concerning water use effi13 ciency and conservation; and 

14 (4) development and implementation of the 

15 plan. 

16 SEC. 8. WATER MANAGEMENT STUDY AND REPORT. 

17 (a) STUDY.— 

18 (1) REQUIREMENT.—The Administrator of the 

19 Environmental Protection Agency shall enter into an 

20 arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences 

21 to complete a study of low impact and soft path 

22 strategies for management of water supply, waste23 water, and stormwater. 

24 (2) CONTENTS.—The study shall— 

25 (A) examine and compare the state of re26 search, technology development, and emerging 


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1 practices in other developed and developing 

2 countries with those in the United States; 

3 (B) identify and evaluate relevant system 

4 approaches for comprehensive water manage5 ment, including the interrelationship of water 

6 systems with other major systems such as en7 ergy and transportation; 

8 (C) identify priority research and develop9 ment needs; and 

10 (D) assess implementation needs and bar11 riers. 

12 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

13 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Envi14 ronmental Protection Agency shall transmit to the Com15 mittee on Science and Technology of the House of Rep16 resentatives and the Committee on Environment and Pub17 lic Works of the Senate a report on the key findings of 

18 the study conducted under subsection (a). The report shall 

19 evaluate challenges and opportunities and serve as a prac20 tical reference for water managers, planners, developers, 

21 scientists, engineers, non-governmental organizations, 

22 Federal agencies, and regulators by recommending innova23 tive and integrated solutions. 

24 (c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 


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1 (1) the term ‘‘low impact’’ means a strategy 

2 that manages rainfall at the source using uniformly 

3 distributed decentralized micro-scale controls to 

4 mimic a site’s predevelopment hydrology by using 

5 design techniques that infiltrate, filter, store, evapo6 rate, and detain runoff close to its source; and 

7 (2) the term ‘‘soft path’’ means a general 

8 framework that encompasses— 

9 (A) increased efficiency of water use; 

10 (B) integration of water supply, waste11 water treatment, and stormwater management 

12 systems; and 

13 (C) protection, restoration, and effective 

14 use of the natural capacities of ecosystems to 

15 provide clean water. 

16 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator of 

18 the Environmental Protection Agency for carrying out this 

19 section $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

20 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

21 There are authorized to be appropriated to the As22 sistant Administrator for carrying out this Act 

23 $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 

24 2014. 

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