M ore than two dozen legislative proposals in the 114 th Congress included provisions concerning water use efficiency, or water conservation. These legislative proposals did not seek to set specific enforceable water use efficiency standards or goals. Rather, most sought to encourage or provide incentives for practices, technologies, and measures to achieve improved water use efficiency. Some of the proposals were standalone bills that solely addressed water use efficiency and conservation. Some were components of bills that addressed western U.S. drought; critical water resource conditions in western states have contributed to national policy proposals that include water use efficiency. Some of the water use efficiency proposals were included in comprehensive energy policy bills. That is, water efficiency and energy efficiency were linked in some legislation, although water use efficiency was generally the secondary policy consideration in such bills. Many of the water use efficiency proposals also had been introduced in previous Congresses, but did not advance. The 114 th Congress legislation can be broadly grouped in five categories of proposals, which are described in this report. Codifying the WaterSense program, Research and development, Water use efficiency in buildings, especially federal buildings, Financial and technical assistance, and Tax incentives. A few bills passed the Senate or House, and one measure that addressed water use efficiency in part (i.e., water use in buildings) was enacted. WaterSense is a voluntary labeling and recognition program created by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2006 as a companion to Energy Star, which is a similar program administered by EPA and the Department of Energy (DOE). Energy Star is authorized in law (Energy Policy Act of 2005, P.L. 109-58 , 42 U.S.C. §6294a), while WaterSense is not. Both programs involve partnerships between government, manufacturers, and others that seek to help consumers and businesses easily identify highly efficient products, homes, and buildings, with Energy Star focusing on energy efficiency and WaterSense focusing on water efficiency. While the latter program's central focus is on reducing water use, EPA recognizes that water efficiency also results in energy savings. The program's overall goal is to identify and certify through labeling products that are at least 20% more efficient than standard products available in the market. Through WaterSense, EPA has so far issued performance-based water-use specifications for seven product categories and has others under development. EPA also has issued a New Home Specification that incorporates existing criteria for indoor products and outdoor uses. Once a specification for a product category is established, in order to obtain a WaterSense label, manufacturers submit their products for testing by third-party laboratories or certifying bodies that have been licensed by EPA. Legislative proposals to formally establish the program in law have been introduced a number of times since the 111 th Congress. One of the arguments in support of codifying the WaterSense program legislatively has been that, because the program is an EPA administrative initiative, it is difficult for EPA program managers and supporters to call on resources to expand its activities; establishing the program in law, especially with authorization of appropriations, would give the program status to address this problem, proponents say. The program is funded through regular appropriations to EPA that have been less than $5 million annually, or less than 10% of amounts appropriated for the Energy Star program. A number of bills were introduced in the 114 th Congress to codify in law a WaterSense program at EPA, direct the EPA Administrator to establish and maintain water-efficiency performance standards, promote the WaterSense label, review and update WaterSense specifications, and provide information to the public. Bills to establish WaterSense in law included the following. S.Amdt. 3221 , an amendment to S. 2012 , the Energy Policy Modernization Act, was approved by the Senate on April 19, 2016. It would, among other provisions, direct EPA to review existing WaterSense specifications not more than six years after adoption and make revisions to achieve additional water savings. Language identical to the provision in S. 2012 was included in S. 2848 , the Water Resources Development Act of 2016, which the Senate passed on September 15, 2016. Comprehensive water resources development legislation subsequently was passed by the House and Senate ( S. 612 ), but it did not include the WaterSense provisions. Another comprehensive energy policy bill introduced in the Senate, S. 2089 , the American Energy Innovation Act, included a provision to codify WaterSense. It proposed to authorize appropriations of $5 million annually for four years, to be adjusted for inflation in subsequent fiscal years. S. 176 , the Water in the 21 st Century Act, proposed to codify the WaterSense program at EPA and authorize a total of $50 million in appropriations over four years, beginning at $5 million and increasing to $20 million in the fourth year. Similar House legislation was H.R. 291 . Three bills that expressly addressed the western U.S. drought, S. 1894 and S. 2533 / H.R. 5247 , proposed to similarly codify the program. These bills proposed to authorize appropriations of $5 million annually for five years. H.R. 8 , the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act, a comprehensive energy policy bill passed by the House in December 2015, included a provision to codify the WaterSense program; however, this bill did not authorize appropriations to implement the program. H.R. 3720 , the Water Advanced Technologies for Efficient Resource Use Act, likewise proposed to establish the program in law. It proposed to authorize a total of $87.5 million in appropriations, beginning at $7.5 million and increasing to $50 million in the fourth year, to be adjusted for inflation in subsequent fiscal years. Bills in the 114 th Congress included varied approaches to research and development of technologies to achieve improved water use efficiency. S. 653 , the Water Resources Research Amendments Act of 2015, proposed to reauthorize the Water Resources Research Act (P.L. 88-379, as amended) and provide grant funding to Water Resources Research Institutes in each state, territory, and the District of Columbia for applied water supply research through FY2020. This bill, which the Senate passed in June 2015, added research into alternative approaches to water use efficiency and energy efficiency of wastewater treatment works to the scope of the nation's water research agenda. Other bills with similar provisions included H.R. 291 , S. 176 , and S. 2848 . Several bills concerned with the western U.S. drought included provisions directing the U.S. Geological Survey to establish a water data system to "advance the availability, timely distribution, and widespread use of water data and information for water management, education, research, assessment, and monitoring purposes." Underlying these provisions is concern that there is need for more and better data on water use that would assist decisionmaking by government, water managers, communities, and the private sector. Bills with these "open water data system" provisions included H.R. 291 , S. 176 , S. 1837 , and S. 1894 . The purpose of S. 1485 , the Water Efficiency Innovation Act, was "to provide for the advancement of energy-water efficiency research, development, and deployment activities." To do so, it proposed to direct the Department of Energy to advance energy efficiency in water and wastewater treatment facilities, including systems that treat municipal, industrial, and agricultural waste. H.R. 4653 was a bill that broadly addressed financial and technical management of water systems that are subject to requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Among its provisions, this bill proposed to direct EPA to develop criteria for effective water loss and leak control technology to be used by water systems. Leak detection has been referred to as an "under-appreciated" water conservation strategy. Buildings are estimated to account for approximately 13% of total water consumed in the United States per day. Of that total, 26% is estimated to be used by commercial building occupants, and 74% by homeowners. EPA's WaterSense program focuses primarily on water use efficiency of products used inside and outside residential buildings, but some of its specifications (e.g., for bathroom fixtures) also apply to products used in commercial buildings such as hotels, motels, restaurants, schools, and office buildings. It is sometimes argued that, on matters of policy, the federal government should lead by example. In that regard several existing policy requirements direct federal agencies to use water-efficient products and services. Section 423 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 ( P.L. 100-140 , 42 U.S.C. §17083) directs the energy managers of federal buildings to conduct water and energy evaluations of their buildings and to implement energy and water efficiency measures identified through those audits. Executive Order 13423 (January 26, 2007) directed federal agencies to reduce water consumption intensity through life-cycle cost-effective measures by 2% annually, or 16% by the end of FY2015, and to acquire goods and services that are energy-efficient, water-efficient, and use recycled content. Executive Order 13693 (May 25, 2015) is the most recent Executive Order concerned with federal environmental, energy, and transportation management. In particular, it extends to FY2025 the schedule in E.O. 13423 requiring federal buildings to reduce water consumption intensity by 2% annually, or by 36% relative to a FY2007 baseline. It also broadens the mandate to include reducing agency potable water consumption intensity; reducing agency industrial, landscaping, and agricultural water consumption; installing water meters in federal buildings to improve water conservation and management; and installing green infrastructure features to help with stormwater and wastewater management.