Biden gives California more than $690 million to improve water quality and infrastructure

Over the course of two days, the Biden administration announced it would give the state more than $690 million for water projects this year.

On Tuesday, the United States Environmental Protection Agency said it would send California more than $391 million to improve its drinking water infrastructure this year.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said it would allocate $300 million to 24 projects for water delivery, storage and electricity in California.

The funding for each comes from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The act injected $6 billion to the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund for states, territories and tribal lands to use in 2023, according to the EPA on Tuesday.

“These funds will enable more communities to access technical assistance, modernize their drinking water infrastructure, and ensure safe drinking water for generations to come,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman.

She said in a statement that the technical assistance would bolster water infrastructure, especially in tribal and neglected communities.

Then on Wednesday, the Bureau of Reclamation announced nearly $585 million for repairs on water delivery systems throughout the West. That funding will go to 83 projects in 11 states to improve water deliveries, storage and treatment as well as safety and hydro-power generation.

Money to fix dilapidated infrastructure in California comes as the state grapples with the effects of recent storms.

“This winter’s onslaught of devastating winter storms was just the latest in a long line of weather whiplash in California that has overwhelmed and battered our aging infrastructure,” Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said in a call with reporters, ”all pointing to the need to continue to invest in our infrastructure.”

Clean drinking water

About $2.2 billion from funds announced Tuesday will directly bolster drinking water systems, with other amounts going to replace pipes and remove contaminants.

Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, said in a statement that “the nation’s water infrastructure has been woefully neglected for decades, leading to a dilapidated, contamination-riddled system.”

“I’m happy this funding is on its way to our state and will make sure we see the full benefit of this program,” he said.

State allocations from the federal drinking fund come from a 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act that requires the EPA to assess public water systems nationwide every four years. The allotments announced Tuesday came from its seventh survey.

The assessment identified that drinking water infrastructure needs $625 billion over the next two decades “to ensure the nation’s public health, security, and economic well-being.”

The seventh survey was the first that queried about lead service lines, according to the EPA, which projected a national total of 9.2 million of them in the U.S. Half of the funding announced Tuesday, $3 billion, will be used to identify and replace lead pipes nationwide.

EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a statement that this and other allocations advance the Biden administration’s goal of removing all lead water pipes and protecting communities from toxic contaminants.

About $800 million will address contaminants like PFAS — chemicals that have been linked to certain cancers, low birth weights and other health issues.

The EPA proposed the first federal limitations on PFAS in drinking water in March. Though the use of PFAS has phased out for the most part across the country, the chemicals do not break down over time and are expensive to remove.

California recently passed a set of laws to ban the sale of PFAS in various products, from food containers to car seats to cosmetic products, over the next few years. The state advises strict limitations on PFAS concentrations in water sources.

A 2022 California state audit found almost a million Californians lack access to safe drinking water.

Yana Garcia, California Secretary for Environmental Protection, said in a statement that California’s drinking water infrastructure needs about $64.7 billion in upgrades. She said federal and state funding for water infrastructure was “critical.”

“Although we’ve made great strides, many California communities continue to lack access to safe, clean, and affordable drinking water,” Garcia said in a statement.

The 2021 infrastructure law, backed by President Joe Biden, will invest over $50 billion in water and wastewater infrastructure over four years across the country, according to the EPA.

California lawmakers praised infrastructure investments.

“Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are delivering historic investments to repair our drinking water infrastructure,” Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, said in a statement, “ensuring communities in the San Joaquin Valley have access to safe, clean drinking water.”

Water infrastructure

All of the investments come from the White House’s broader promise to address impacts from changes in climate and improve the nation’s critical structures, facilities and transportation lines.

Both Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s announcement constitute some of several grants given to California and other states for infrastructure and water projects through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

The 2021 act set $8.3 billion for Reclamation over five years for projects to rehabilitate old water delivery systems, bolster dams and complete rural water projects. The Inflation Reduction Act added another $4.6 billion.

The projects for Bureau of Reclamation said they were funding Wednesday are all part of the major river basins and regions where the agency operates.

“Among the projects selected for funding are efforts to increase canal capacity, provide water treatments for tribes, replace equipment for hydropower production and provide necessary maintenance to aging project buildings,” Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said in a call with reporters from California on Wednesday.

These follow on $240 million set aside for projects last year. The next application period for these type of funds is likely to be in October.

Half of the 24 California projects are connected to the Central Valley Project. Others include the Klamath Project, Newlands Project, Washoe Project, Colorado River Front Work and Levee System, All-American Canal System and Yuma Project.

“When we talk about repairing California’s water infrastructure, we’re talking about much more than just crumbling canals or drying riverbeds,” Padilla said. “We’re talking about protecting the source for drinking water, showers and sinks, and electricity for 40 million Californians. And we’re talking about a vital resource for agriculture in a region that feeds the nation.”