# The Every Drop Counts Act: What It Does

This bill makes it easier for communities and water districts to get federal funding for projects that store and manage water. Right now, there's a federal program that gives grants to help build water storage projects, but it has pretty strict limits on what kinds of projects qualify. This bill loosens those restrictions so more water storage projects can compete for federal money.

The main change is about what counts as an eligible project. Currently, the program focuses mainly on large surface water storage projects like reservoirs. This bill expands the definition to include more types of water storage, especially groundwater storage projects. For example, projects that pump water underground to recharge aquifers, or systems that move water to underground storage areas, would now qualify for federal grants. The bill also increases the funding authority from $5 million to $10 million, giving the program more money to work with.

The bill is careful to protect existing water rights and state control over water. It specifically says that nothing in the bill changes how states manage their water, overrides interstate water agreements, or lets the federal government take control of water supplies. This means the bill is really just about expanding which projects can get federal help, not about changing who owns or controls the water itself.

For people living in areas dealing with water shortages, drought, or declining groundwater levels, this could mean more funding becomes available for local water storage solutions. Communities in the West, where water scarcity is a major issue, would likely see the biggest impact, as they could pursue more diverse water storage strategies with federal support.

Every Drop Counts Act

Costa, Jim

Every Drop Counts ActThis bill expands the Bureau of Reclamation's Small Storage Program, which is a grant program for small surface water or groundwater storage projects in certain western states.First, the bill expands the types of projects that are eligible for grants under the program. Specifically, the bill makes a project eligible for a grant if the project (1) has water storage capacity of recharges no less than 200 acre-feet and no more than 150,000 acre-feet on an average annual basis over the life of the project for storage or use; and (2) increases groundwater aquifer storage, conveys water to or recovers water from groundwater storage, and stabilizes groundwater levels.Next, it extends Reclamation's authority to carry out the grant program for another five years.