Western senators propose wastewater program renewal

By Liam Hibbert
The Center Square

U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, has co-introduced bipartisan legislation to extend a federal $450 million water recycling grant for Western states until 2032.

The federal grant, signed by former President Joe Biden in 2021, has already allocated roughly $308 million on water recycling projects in Colorado River states. Without its renewal, the remaining nearly $150 million could go unspent.

“There is still $150 million in unused funds, and the authorization for the grant program is set to sunset this year,” the Office of Sen. Cortez Masto wrote, answering The Center Square’s questions by email. “Without the passage of her bipartisan Large-Scale Water Recycling Reauthorization Act, those funds – which have already been appropriated – face an uncertain future.”

The Large-Scale Water Recycling Project Grant Program funds are available to all Western states, but have only been granted to five programs in Utah and Southern California, totaling roughly $308 million.

If the program were not extended, it would expire at the end of the U.S. government’s 2026 fiscal year on Sept. 30. The grant’s extension, the Large-Scale Water Recycling Reauthorization Act, proposed by Cortez Masto and U.S. Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, would give allow grant funds to be allocated through the end of 2032.

The Office of Cortez Masto told The Center Square it did not know what exactly would happen with the funds if they were not allocated in time or if the timeline was not extended.

“They may not get distributed. They could be repurposed for other uses, or they could be prematurely rushed out the door at the end of 2026 without a thorough vetting process,” said Cortez Masto’s office.

Combined, the five grant recipient programs are estimated to produce 154.5 million gallons of recycled water per day – enough to serve 1.8 million Americans, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

The federal grants can only cover up to 25% of projects that cost at least $500 million in total. The largest grant recipient, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s Pure Water Southern California program, received $125.5 million for an estimated $4 billion-$5 billion project. The Southern Nevada Water Authority agreed to contribute $750 million in 2021 to the Californian project, in exchange for additional water usage rights to Lake Mead, located along the Nevada-Arizona border.

Colorado River Basin states – Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming – today recycle on average 26% of municipal wastewater. But these states have shown varying degrees of success and commitment to the water recycling programs, according to a 2025 report from University of California’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.

No Colorado River Basin state has had more success than Nevada, with an estimated 85% of municipal wastewater recycled. Next best is Arizona (52%), followed by the largest producer of wastewater in California (22%) and New Mexico (18%). Colorado (3.6%), Wyoming (3.4%) and Utah (less than 1%) do not reuse “meaningful volumes of treated wastewater,” according to the UCLA report.

The Office of Cortez Masto stressed that the program’s continuation was an important piece of the region’s water infrastructure.

“So far, $300 million of that funding has been used to help fund large-scale water recycling projects that will conserve water and mitigate drought for years to come,” the office said. “This legislation will provide certainty and clarity for local and state governments and water authorities looking to start large-scale water recycling projects in the years to come.”