Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

 WASHINGTON – A key Senate committee today endorsed legislation U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman wrote to address the nation’s water needs.  The full Senate can now consider this legislation.

Bingaman’s SECURE Water Act – approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today -- aims to assist water managers by helping them gain access to better water-related data and implement water conservation projects. 

“The SECURE Water Act is a comprehensive approach to tackling the water issues that plague the nation, particularly the arid West.  I’m working hard to get this bill enacted this year so that water managers can get the information and resources they need to best manage this precious resource,” said Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

U.S. Senator Pete Domenici is cosponsor of the bill.  “Water is a precious resource, especially in western states who are often forced to address its finite supply.  This bill will provide another federal mechanism to explore and develop long-term water conservation techniques,” Domenici said.   

Bingaman’s bill requires an expansion of the National Streamflow Information Program and the development of a systematic groundwater monitoring program.  The bill also directs the U.S. Geological Survey to formally establish a water use and availability assessment program consistent with recommendations made by the National Research Council.

The bill takes into account the impacts of global climate change on water resources by tapping the Secretary of the Interior to establish an intra-governmental panel to link the scientific community and water managers to improve water availability forecasts and to implement adaptation strategies.

The bipartisan legislation also requires the Bureau of Reclamation to initiate a climate change adaptation program to develop strategies and conduct feasibility studies to address water shortages, conflicts and other impacts to water users and the environment.  In addition, both Reclamation and the Department of Energy are directed to assess the effects of climate change on the water supplies needed for hydropower production, which represents the source of at least 7 percent of the nation’s electricity supply.

Finally, the bill authorizes the Bureau of Reclamation to provide financial assistance to states, tribes and local entities to construct improvements that conserve water or take other actions to increase water use efficiencies and protect natural habitats in response to drought, climate change and other water-related crises.