I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 524
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide incentives for 
the conservation of water. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 2, 2005
Ms. BERKLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
incentives for the conservation of water.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Water Conservation 
Incentive Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds that—
(1) a severe to extreme drought affected ap-
proximately 15 percent of the contiguous United 
States as of the end of April 2004,
(2) about 32 percent of the contiguous United 
States fell in the moderate to extreme drought cat-
egories at the end of April 2004, 
(3) the Colorado River system is facing the 
worst drought on record, 
(4) the drought throughout the western United 
States could persist for up to another 30 years, 
(5) growing populations and changing values 
have increased demands on water supplies and river 
systems, resulting in water use and management 
conflicts throughout the country, particularly in the 
West, where the population is expected to increase 
at least 30 percent in the next 20–25 years, and 
(6) unless highly efficient water usage practices 
can be developed and maintained in the West, it will 
not be possible to provide the water needed to sus-
tain western ecosystems, as well as population 
growth. 
SEC. 3. REFUNDABLE CREDIT FOR RESIDENTIAL WATER 
CONSERVATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 (relating to refundable credits) is amended by redes-
ignating section 36 as section 37 and by inserting after 
section 35 the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 36. RESIDENTIAL WATER CONSERVATION. 
‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of an in-
dividual, there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax 
imposed by this chapter for the taxable year an amount 
equal to the qualified water conservation expenditures 
made by the taxpayer during the taxable year. 
‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—
‘‘(1) MAXIMUM
CREDIT.—The credit allowed 
under subsection (a) for a taxable year shall not ex-
ceed $1,000. 
‘‘(2) MINIMUM EXPENDITURES.—If the aggre-
gate qualified water conservation expenditures made 
by the taxpayer during a taxable year is less than 
$50, the amount allowed as a credit under sub-
section (a) for the taxable year shall be zero. 
‘‘(3) PROPERTY STANDARDS.—No credit shall 
be allowed under this section for an item of property 
unless—
‘‘(A) the original use of such property com-
mences with the taxpayer, 
‘‘(B) such property reasonably can be ex-
pected to remain in use for at least 5 years, 
and 
‘‘(C) such property is installed on or in 
connection with a dwelling unit located in the 
United States and used as the principal resi-
dence (within the meaning of section 121) of 
the taxpayer. 
‘‘(c) QUALIFIED WATER CONSERVATION EXPENDI-
TURES.—For purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified water 
conservation expenditure’ means the amount paid 
for qualified water conservation property. 
‘‘(2) QUALIFIED WATER CONSERVATION PROP-
ERTY.—The term ‘qualified water conservation prop-
erty’ means—
‘‘(A) smart dual or multi program irriga-
tion clock that allows the watering of plant and 
grass areas separately and which is capable of 
adjusting the watering schedule based on the 
watering needs of the landscape being watered, 
‘‘(B) water efficient landscaping, includ-
ing—
‘‘(i) xeriscape (which is low-water use 
native and non-native plants and grasses), 
and 
‘‘(ii) artificial turf, 
‘‘(C) low-flow shower heads that use no 
more than 3 gallons of water per minute, 
‘‘(D) ultra low-flush toilets that use no 
more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush,