IIB 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 631 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
FEBRUARY 12, 2009 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 
Public Works 
AN ACT 
To increase research, development, education, and technology 
transfer activities related to water use efficiency and 
conservation technologies and practices at the Environ-
mental Protection Agency. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Water Use Efficiency 
and Conservation Research Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Between 1950 and 2000, the United States 
population increased nearly 90 percent. In that same 
period, public demand for water increased 209 per-
cent. Americans now use an average of 100 gallons 
of water per person each day. This increased de-
mand has put additional stress on water supplies 
and distribution systems, threatening both human 
health and the environment. 
(2) Thirty-six States are anticipating local, re-
gional, or statewide water shortages by 2013. In ad-
dition, climate change related effects are expected to 
exacerbate already scarce water resources in many 
areas of the country. 
(3) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 
Change’s 2007 assessment states that water stored 
in glaciers and snow cover is projected to decline, re-
ducing water availability to one-sixth of the world’s 
population that relies upon meltwater from major 
mountain ranges. The Intergovernmental Panel on 
Climate Change also predicts droughts will become 
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more severe and longer lasting in a number of re-
gions. 
(4) Water conservation should be a national 
goal and the Environmental Protection Agency 
should work with nongovernmental partners to 
achieve that goal. The Environmental Protection 
Agency should support the research, development, 
and dissemination of technologies and processes that 
will achieve greater water use efficiency. 
(5) WaterSense is a voluntary public-private 
partnership program established by the Environ-
mental Protection Agency to promote water effi-
ciency by helping consumers identify water-efficient 
products and practices. The Environmental Protec-
tion Agency estimates that if all United States 
households installed water-efficient appliances, the 
country would save more than 3,000,000,000,000 
gallons of water and more than $17,000,000,000 per 
year. 
(6) The WaterSense program has developed a 
network of partners, and therefore can disseminate 
the results of research on technologies and processes 
that achieve greater water use efficiency. 
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SEC. 3. RESEARCH PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Administrator for 
Research and Development of the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Assistant Ad-
ministrator’’) shall establish a research and development 
program consistent with the plan developed under section 
4 that promotes water use efficiency and conservation, in-
cluding— 
(1) technologies and processes that enable the 
collection, storage, treatment, and reuse of rain-
water, stormwater, and greywater; 
(2) water storage and distribution systems; 
(3) behavioral, social, and economic barriers to 
achieving greater water use efficiency; and 
(4) use of watershed planning directed toward 
water quality, conservation, and supply. 
(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In planning and imple-
menting the program, the Assistant Administrator shall 
consider— 
(1) research needs identified by water resource 
managers, State and local governments, and other 
interested parties; and 
(2) technologies and processes likely to achieve 
the greatest increases in water use efficiency and 
conservation. 
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