Cortez Masto created this program in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help Nevada and other western communities combat drought.
Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Interior launched a large-scale water recycling program that Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) created and passed as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Overall, the program will provide a total of $450 million for projects to combat drought and protect the water supply of millions of Americans living in Nevada and other western states, with an initial $180 million now available in grant funding.
“I fought to include this funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help combat drought and protect our water supply In Nevada,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “My hometown of Las Vegas has led the nation in recycling our water, and I am confident these new projects will serve hundreds of thousands of homes across the West.”
The funding is aimed at supporting water management agencies considering or planning larger water reuse projects to address water supply shortages and combat drought – including a regional water recycling project in California that could produce enough water to serve more than 500,000 households in Southern California and Nevada. More information and the grant application link is available here.
Senator Cortez Masto has been a leader in the Senate working to support conservation efforts and combat drought. As part of the Great American Outdoors Act, she secured permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Cortez Masto fought to deliver $4 billion to combat drought in the states bordering the Colorado River in the Inflation Reduction Act and helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which will continue to make a historic amount of funding available to combat drought.
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