On Wednesday, March 4th, the Committee on Science and Technology will
hold a hearing entitled “21st Century Water Planning: The Importance of
a Coordinated Federal Approach” at 10:00 a.m. in room 2318 of the
Rayburn House Office Building. The purpose of the hearing is to receive
testimony on The National Water Research and Development Initiative Act
and examine the opportunities for the federal government to better
coordinate and support research and technological innovation.
The witnesses will provide testimony on the research needed to address
the challenges of managing water supplies to meet social, economic and
environmental needs in the United States to accommodate population
growth, climatic variation, and other factors. In addition, they will
discuss their views on the need for federal research and development in
the areas of water supply, water conservation, and water management. The
witnesses will offer their perspectives on The National Water Research
and Development Initiative Act and discuss its relationship to other
federal policies and legislative proposals.
Witnesses
- Dr. Henry Vaux, Jr., Professor Emeritus, University of California,
Berkley. From 1994 to 2001, Dr. Vaux served as Chair of the Committee
of the Water Science and Technology Board which prepared a report in
2004 on federal research and development to address water resource
issues. Dr. Vaux will testify on his work chairing the Committee and
how The National Water Research and Development Initiative Act
addresses the recommendations of the 2004
NRC report.
- Dr. Peter Gleick, President of the Pacific Institute for Studies in
Development, Environment, and Security. The Pacific Institute is a
research institute dedicated to addressing the connections between
water and human health, the hydrologic impacts of climate change,
sustainable water use, privatization and globalization, and
international conflicts over water resources. Dr. Gleick will discuss
his research and provide his perspective on The National Water
Research and Development Initiative Act and its relationship to other
federal programs and proposals.
- Mark Modzelewski, Co-founder Water Innovations Alliance. Created in
2008, the Alliance serves as an industry association working towards
increasing water research funding, strengthening federal research and
development, and improving education and outreach for water industry
professionals. Mr. Modzelewski will offer an industry perspective to
the need for increased federal research and development related to
water.
- Nancy Stoner, Co-director of the Water Program at the Natural
Resources Defense Council (NRDC). NRDC is a
national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and
environmental specialists with a long history of working to protect
the nation’s waters. Ms. Stoner will offer an environmental
perspective on the importance of additional federal efforts to ensure
clean water supplies, her perspectives on the National Water Research
and Development Initiative, and the legislation’s relationship to
other federal programs and proposals.
- Christine Furstoss, General Manager of Technology, General Electric
(GE) Water and Process Technologies. At GE, Ms. Furstoss leads
approximately 350 technologists working on critical chemical,
membrane, device and processing technologies aimed at providing water
treatment, water reuse and efficient process system solutions. Ms.
Furstoss will testify about her work in water technology development
and the role of private industry in water science research.
BACKGROUND
The nation’s water policy remains essentially unchanged despite a myriad
of reports recommending broad changes to address dwindling water
supplies. Multi-year droughts continue to plague regions and states
around the country, including the Southeast, Texas, and California. For
many municipalities, intense competition for water and diminished
supplies will force local water agencies to make tough decisions on
water allocations including implementation of restrictions to protect
essential ecosystem services.
Droughts, changing patterns of precipitation and snowmelt, and increased
water loss due to evaporation as a result of warmer air temperatures are
indicators that climate variability and climate change have impacts
that are being felt across the United
States.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) latest report
projects that water supplies stored in glaciers and snow cover will
decline in the course of the century, thus reducing water availability
in regions supplied by melt water from major mountain ranges.
January 2009, the driest month in California history, has left
California’s reservoirs and rivers operating at near record lows. On
February 20, the Bureau of Reclamation announced that a large percentage
of agricultural contractors in the State are expected to receive no
water deliveries this year due to California’s extreme drought and
municipal contractors should count on receiving a 50 percent of their
normal supply. The Bureau prepared two forecasts: a conservative
forecast with a 90-percent chance of having runoff greater than
forecasted and a median forecast with a 50-percent chance of having
runoff greater than forecasted.
Recommendations for the Obama Administration
Last fall, the Pacific Institute’s Dr. Peter Gleick provided water
policy
recommendations
to the next Administration. Dr. Gleick’s priorities include developing a
comprehensive national water policy, spotlighting national security
issues related to water, expanding the role of the U.S. in addressing
global water problems, and integrating climate change into all federal
water planning and activity.
The United State’s fresh water resources are used ineffectively due, in
part, to a lack of a national water policy. Dr. Gleick argues, “If
inefficient use and water contamination continue unabated, they will
impoverish this and future generations, destroy the limited remaining
aquatic ecosystems, and threaten our future food supply.”
In developing a 21st Century National Water Policy, the Pacific
Institute recommends a reorganization of the diverse and uncoordinated
federal water responsibilities and expanding the collection of water-use
and water-quality data. In addition, the Institute calls for the
re-establishment of a new national, bipartisan Water Commission for the
21st Century to evaluate and recommend changes to national water policy.
H.R. 1145: National Water Research and Development Initiative Act
The Committee held two hearings in the 110th Congress—on May 14, 2008
and July 23, 2008—on water supply research and development. At the
hearings, witnesses discussed the need for better coordination of
federal efforts on water, increased funding for research on the effects
of climate change on groundwater, and improved consideration of
efficient water use in energy systems. They also recommended that
additional money be spent on public education programs.
Despite an interagency research budget of approximately $700 million, an
increase in the number of water shortages and emerging conflicts over
water supplies suggest that we are inadequately prepared to address the
nation’s water management issues. The 2004 report by the National
Research Council entitled Confronting the Nation’s Water Problems: The
Role of Federal Research, advocates for a clear national water strategy
to coordinate the 20 plus federal agencies responsible for conducting
and funding research in order to avoid duplication and to tackle the
looming challenges of maintaining adequate water supplies.
Chairman Gordon introduced the National Water Research and Development
Initiative Act on September 23, 2008 following the Committee hearings
(H.R. 6997) and in response to the recommendations in the Academy’s 2004
report.
Chairman Gordon reintroduced the legislation on February 24, 2009. H.R.
1145 coordinates federal research water efforts to ensure we have the
best tools and information to maintain adequate supplies of water for
Americans in the coming decades. The bill seeks to improve the federal
government’s efforts in water research, development, demonstration,
education, and technology transfer activities to address changes in
water use, supply, and demand in the United States.
The bill codifies the Interagency Committee created in 2003, the
Subcommittee on Water Availability and Quality (SWAQ) of the National
Science and Technology Council’s Committee on Environment and Natural
Resources. SWAQ was created to identify
science and technology needs to address the growing issues related to
freshwater supplies, develop a coordinated a multiyear plan to improve
research on water supply and water quality, and to enhance the
collection and availability of data needed to ensure an adequate water
supply for the nation. H.R. 1145 incorporates suggestions in the
National Academies’ 2004 report that are intended to strengthen the
Committee. By strengthening the SWAQ and
providing it explicit Congressional authorization, the recommendations
of the 2007 SWAQ report8 will receive due
consideration and form the start of a national strategy to ensure we
have a sustainable water supply.
Information and recommendations from witnesses obtained through the two
hearings in the 110th Congress and from other water experts were
incorporated into the bill introduced in the 111th Congress. Specific
recommendations that have been included in the current legislation
include: an expanded list of research outcomes, specific mechanisms to
increase public input and involvement in shaping and evaluating the
Initiative, and provisions to facilitate communication and outreach
opportunities with non-governmental organizations.
Additional Water Legislative Proposals
As Congress seeks to address future water supply challenges, it is
important to consider how The National Water Research and Development
Initiative Act relates to other federal policies and legislative
proposals. Two bills that also address federal water policy are: H.R.
135, The 21st Century Water Commission Act and S. 22, The Omnibus Public
Land Management Act of 2009.
H.R. 135: 21st Century Water Commission Act of 2009
H.R. 135 was introduced by Rep. John Linder (R-GA). This legislation
would establish a Commission to provide for water assessments to project
future water supply and demand, review current water management programs
at all levels of government, and develop recommendations for a
comprehensive water strategy. Modeled after the 1968 National Water
Commission Act, H.R. 135 creates a commission consisting of non-federal
experts appointed by the President, the Speaker of the House, and the
Majority Leader of the Senate.
H.R. 135 requires the Commission to investigate a number of solutions to
avert future water shortages including: aqueducts and pipelines, aquifer
recharge, repairing aging infrastructure, building dams and reservoirs,
desalination, the capture and storage of rainwater, recycled wastewater,
conservation, and wetlands creation.
H.R. 135 complements the National Water Research and Development
Initiative Act. The Commission’s recommendations would be carried out by
the 20-plus agencies overseeing federal water policy. In order to
effectively implement these recommendations, the federal government must
have a coordinated structure in place.
S. 22: Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009
S. 22, The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, authorizes many
programs and activities in the Department of the Interior and the
Department of Agriculture related to public lands.
Title IX, Subtitle F of this legislation directs the Secretary of
Interior to conduct a variety of activities related to water management
on federal lands. The Secretary is required to establish a climate
change adaptation program to address water management in watersheds
containing federally authorized reclamation projects. The bill also
directs the Secretary of Energy to conduct an assessment of potential
climate change impacts on hydropower projects under the authority of the
Federal Power Marketing Administration. In addition, S. 22 directs the
Secretary of Interior to establish an interagency committee on water and
climate change to review the impacts of climate change on freshwater
resources in the U.S., to develop strategies to improve observations and
expand data collection needed to assess climate impacts. The bill also
provides an increased authorization for the U.S. Geological Service
(USGS) for the National Streamflow Information Program and for expanded
monitoring of groundwater resources.
H.R. 1145 ensures coordination of the research, development and
demonstration activities of all federal agencies with expertise in water
that will be required to develop the required assessments and the
adaptive management strategies for water resources. Participation of the
key federal agencies with expertise and authorities over water resources
in the interagency committees authorized under these two bills will
facilitate a transfer of coordinated research into coordinated water
management policy.
House Science, Space, and Technology Committee
2318 Rayburn
03/04/2009 at 10:00AM