A Senate Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee is set to take up a host of proposals aimed at shoring up water infrastructure across the nation and alleviating drought in the West.
The Subcommittee on Water and Power will meet on Tuesday to hear testimony on 20 proposals. The panel rescheduled a late February hearing that included the same bills, while adding a few additional items.
The legislation includes full committee Chair Mike Lee’s (R-Utah) S. 3743, which would direct the Interior Department to conduct a study on how best to improve hydropower performance at the Glen Canyon Dam, while addressing invasive species in the region downstream of the Lake Powell reservoir.
Persistent drought in the Colorado River Basin has shrunk flows in the waterway, and lawmakers are attempting to address shortages with legislation that would increase water recycling and storage.
