releases: https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senate-committee-advances-bipartisan-padilla-bill-to-support-desalination-and-safe-drinking-water/
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senate-committee-advances-bipartisan-padilla-bill-to-support-desalination-and-safe-drinking-water/ | Senate Committee Advances Bipartisan Padilla Bill to Support Desalination and Safe Drinking Water | 2026-09-30 | 2026 | 2026-09 | Democrat | Senate | CA | Alex Padilla | P000145 | www.padilla.senate.gov | padilla | https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/ | scraper | WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources advanced U.S. Senator Alex Padilla’s (D-Calif.) bipartisan bill to reauthorize desalination projects and research. Padilla’s Desalination Reauthorization Act cleared committee by voice vote, along with a bipartisan amendment that was also adopted by voice vote. “Access to safe and clean drinking water is a human right, and investments in desalination projects provide promising pathways to meet our water needs,” said Senator Padilla. “The bill will help strengthen investments into desalination research and development so that every American can access safe, clean water. This is a critical step in addressing California’s water crisis and building new pathways for water security across the country.” The legislation would extend the programmatic approval of the Bureau of Reclamation to fund desalination projects, which would otherwise expire this year. If the programmatic approval expired, Congress would need to pass a separate bill in order to authorize each new desalination project, which could substantially delay desalination projects and increase their costs. These projects, including the Doheny desalination plant in Orange County, help the Southwest counter drought by providing a drought-proof contribution to our water supply. In addition, the legislation would authorize Reclamation to support advanced pilots to test new desalination technologies like OceanWell, which uses the ocean pressure at depths of approximately 1,400 feet to reduce the energy costs of desalination, and can also minimize desalination’s effects on marine life. OceanWell is working with Las Virgenes Water District in Ventura County to test its technology off the Southern California coast. Specifically, this bill would: Reauthorize the Bureau of Reclamation’s authority to provide grants for desalination projects, which is on track expire this year; Amend the programmatic approval to extend to public/private partnerships to build desalination projects; Direct that Reclamation cannot administratively impose a maximum funding amount that each desalination project can receive, which would allow large desalination plants to receive the full 25% federal cost-share; and Amend the desalination and water purification research program to advance pilot projects, which cover the gap in developing new technologies known as the “Valley of Death” between small-scale pilots that test a laboratory concept and commercially viable projects. The bipartisan amendment that the committee adopted would increase the maximum level of federal grants for desalination research to institutions of higher education like the University of California from $1 million to $2.5 million. In addition to Padilla, the bill is cosponsored by Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas). Padilla has long been a strong advocate for ensuring access to safe, reliable water throughout California and across the country. Earlier this year, as severe droughts, warming temperatures, limitations on groundwater pumping, and outdated infrastructure compound California’s water scarcity issues, Padilla introduced a pair of bills to help address growing water supply challenges in California and the American West. His MORE WATER Act advanced out of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources by voice vote and now heads to the Senate for a full vote. ### | 1 | 2026-10-01T11:23:28Z | 2026-10-01T11:25:15Z |