Investments from Sinema’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs law and the Inflation Reduction law support water conservation in the Upper Colorado River Basin
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema announced a historic $728 million investment in drought resiliency measures to conserve water in the Upper Colorado River Basin and strengthen water security for the American West. The announcement comes as the Colorado River Basin experiences the worst drought conditions the region has seen in over 1,200 years.
“As Arizonans face the worst drought conditions we’ve ever seen, I’m incredibly proud to have secured this once-in-a-generation funding for drought relief efforts in Arizona and across the West. We’ve shown that, by working together side by side with a genuine desire to deliver real, lasting regional solutions, we can make progress on the issues we all care deeply about – like securing our water future,” said Sinema, co-author and lead negotiator of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs law.
Sinema has been actively working with partners in Arizona and across the West to identify solutions helping mitigate the impacts of Western drought and form a long-term, regional plan that ensures all Colorado River Basin States succeed together. Following the proposal from six of seven Basin States last month to come together to find lasting solutions to the Colorado River Drought Crisis, Sinema called on California to work collaboratively with the rest of the states.
The historic $728 million for Western drought relief comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs law, bipartisan legislation Sinema wrote and led into law making never-before-seen investments rebuilding America’s crumbling infrastructure, the Inflation Reduction law, legislation Sinema ensured included adequate climate resources to secure Arizona’s water future, and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023.
Sinema’s bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs law invests more than $8 billion to strengthen water infrastructure throughout the American West, such as aging infrastructure, water storage, water recycling, drought contingency plans and dam safety – and makes the strongest investment in clean drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in U.S. history, delivering clean water to millions of American families.
Last year, Sinema launched a Water Advisory Council of Arizona water experts from agriculture, tribal, conservation, academic, and business communities across Arizona to advise the Senator on water issues and form a lasting regional plan that relieves ongoing drought conditions.