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LINDER WATER COMMISSION BILL HEADS TO THE HOUSE FLOOR: THIRD TIME MAY BE A CHARM
May 16, 2008
Contact: Derick Corbett
Washington, D.C.- Yesterday, H.R. 135, the “Twenty-First Century Water Commission,” passed the full Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and will soon be scheduled for a vote on the House floor. The bill has passed the House floor in the last two Congresses, but was never considered by the U.S. Senate. With the help of his colleagues, Linder hopes to change that.
“There is a saying in the West – ‘Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting.’ The contentious battles over control of limited water resources are no longer confined only to that part of the country. We are quickly realizing that water isn’t everywhere, and it is rarely where we most want it. Drought emergencies are now convincing a number of states that they need to have a better plan for managing water resources. We need a 21st Century Water Strategy to ensure the availability of fresh water for generations to come.”
Experts now say that our water problems are so severe that the United States will be increasingly challenged to provide sufficient quantities of high-quality water to its growing population in the coming years. A thorough national assessment of our nation’s water availability and use has not been conducted since the late 1970s, and a lot has changed since then. Water availability has become nation-wide problem and Linder believes the time is right for nation-wide action.
“Creating a roadmap that states can use to form their water policy is going to require risks and bold leadership, but so did creating the interstate highway system. Planning began in the late 1930’s, and it took nearly 80 years for the project to come to full fruition, with each state planning its own highway needs. It was initially viewed by many as a pipe dream: too big, too complex. Where would we be today if President Eisenhower did not take some enormous risks to make this happen? This project enriched the quality of life for virtually every American. It has positioned the nation for improved international competitiveness, permitted the freedom of personal mobility to flourish, and enhanced national security.”
In drafting a 21st Century Water Strategy, a number of solutions to avert future water shortages will be evaluated by the Commission created by H.R. 135, 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. Linder stressed that it is important to remember that this Commission will not create a national water policy. States will make their own water policies, but they will have access to the right data, innovative strategies, and incentives to do that. The Commission is designed to provide them those tools.
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