Order Code RS20569
Updated January 27, 2006
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Water Resource Issues in the 109th Congress
Betsy A. Cody
Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
Resources, Science, and Industry Division
H. Steven Hughes
Analyst in Environmental and Natural Resources Policy
Resources, Science, and Industry Division
Summary
Budgetary constraints, conflicting policy objectives, adverse environmental impacts
and a demand for local control, all contribute to controversies and trade-offs surrounding
water resources development and management. Hurricane Katrina brought to the
forefront long-simmering policy disputes involving local control, federal financing,
environmental and social tradeoffs, and multi-level accountability and responsibility for
water infrastructure projects, such as levees. Construction, improvement, and
management of other federal water resource projects (e.g., locks, dams, and diversion
facilities) face similar challenges.
The 109th Congress faces numerous questions as it considers water resource
development, technology, and water supply bills, in the second session. Do projects that
meet local needs also contribute to national economic development (an evaluation
criterion for federal participation), or are the benefits concentrated locally or regionally?
What environmental and social impacts (and benefits) result, and what trade-offs are
appropriate? Once projects are constructed, who controls them and who pays for
maintenance and operation? Do project operations conflict with environmental
requirements? How can project impacts be mitigated while minimizing costs to project
users? These questions and others are likely to arise as Congress debates appropriations
for the Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for FY2007, contents
of a 2006 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), and agency policy and program
changes (e.g. rural water supply, operation of federal projects along the Colorado River,
and oversight of California Bay-Delta (CALFED) and Everglades restoration programs).
Oversight issues related to Hurricane Katrina and the federal role in hurricane and flood
protection, and levee construction and management, also will be on-going during the
second session. This report will be updated semi-annually.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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Introduction
Federal water resource construction waned during the last decades of the 20th
Century in response to fiscal constraints, interest in more local control of water and land
resources, and requirements to assess environmental impacts of federal actions and to
protect fish and wildlife. This marked the end of expansionist federal policies of the early
20th Century that had led to widespread federal investment in dams, navigation locks,
irrigation diversions, and levees and basin-wide planning and development efforts. The
2005 hurricane season has brought national attention and interest to long-simmering water
policy disputes, such as the trade-offs in national and local benefits, costs, and risks of the
current division of responsibilities between local, state, and federal entities.
The109th Congress is faced with deciding whether to change existing policy that
defines the federal role in the planning, construction, maintenance, inspection and
financing of water resources projects and whether to alter federal investment in water
resources research and data collection. Congress makes these decisions within the context
of multiple and often conflicting objectives, competing legal decisions, and entrenched
institutional mechanisms (e.g., century old water rights, contractual obligations, etc.).
Although most water resource legislation typically addresses site-specific needs, certain
themes and issues appear in many local and regional water resources conflicts. For
example, demand for new project services (e.g., improved navigation, new water supply,
improved or new flood control facilities), protection of threatened and endangered
species, and water quality concerns are common to many conflicts; however, most
legislation on these issues deals with specific sites, such as the Upper Mississippi, Florida
Everglades, and the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers Delta and its confluence with
San Francisco Bay (CALFED).
Background
The 109th Congress in its second session is likely to consider site-specific legislation
for coastal Louisiana, Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway System, the Great
Lakes, and possibly the Lower Colorado River basin. However, the more typical site-
specific legislation, yet on a smaller scale, are the hundreds of individual water resources
projects authorized through Water Resources Development Acts and stand alone bills
addressing new water supply technologies and augmentation of existing water supplies,
rural water supply development, and Indian water rights settlements. On-going oversight
of existing laws and projects (e.g. Central Valley Project Improvement Act, flood
protection in New Orleans and Sacramento) and project operations is also expected,
especially where court decisions, agency actions, or other circumstances, such as drought,
may affect project operations (e.g., Colorado, Columbia, Klamath, Missouri, Rio Grande,
and San Joaquin rivers). Latent legislative topics that the 109th Congress may chose to
address in the second session include proposals for national water supply and drought
assessments, national water policy coordination and planning, and for financing
instruments to address water infrastructure needs such as rehabilitating aging navigation
and flood control works and assisting local water entities to comply with federal
regulations.

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In the West, naturally scarce water supplies and increasing urban populations1 have
spawned new debates over water allocation — particularly over water for threatened or
endangered species — and have increased federal-state tensions, since the federal
government has generally deferred to state primacy in intrastate water allocation. Western
water legislation during the second session of the 109th Congress is likely to center on
project management and oversight, rural water supply legislation, and the Bureau of
Reclamation’s Title 16 water reclamation and recycling program. Nationally,
congressional attention during the second session of the 109th Congress is likely to focus
on the federal role in levee construction, maintenance, and evaluation. Hurricane Katrina
oversight issues such as how to better coordinate federal activities and how to respond or
rebuild in the wake of catastrophic damages will be of particular focus, as will the
examination of other areas of the country that may also be vulnerable. Also of concern
nationwide is the status of threatened and endangered species and the health of the
nation’s rivers and riparian areas. Federal obligations to protect threatened and
endangered species and other environmental quality requirements have resulted in
increased attention to river and watershed restoration efforts. The federal government is
involved in several restoration initiatives ranging from the Florida Everglades to the San
Francisco Bay-San Joaquin/Sacramento Rivers Delta (Bay-Delta).2
At the same time, the demand for traditional or new water supply projects,
navigational improvements, flood control projects, and beach and shoreline protection
efforts continues. In fact, both the Everglades and Bay-Delta restoration efforts include
significant water supply components. Controversy over how much water should be
divided among recovering threatened and endangered species, protecting water quality,
and supplying farms, cities, and other uses has been on-going. Further, widespread
drought throughout different parts of the country over the past several years has spurred
new requests for support for developing and ensuring dwindling water supplies, and new
security threats to water infrastructure have placed added pressures on budgetary
resources. The 109th Congress has pending several national water policy proposals
ranging from new water study commissions and assessments, and rural water supply
initiatives, to global sanitation and drinking water aid.
These issues will continue to be debated during consideration of individual project
authorizations, as well as during debate on water resource development legislation and
on FY2007 appropriations for the Bureau and the Corps. Specific issues that are being
or are likely to be discussed during the second session are treated below. Other general
issues that may arise include federal reserved water rights in relation to federal lands,
transfer of water across federal lands and through federal facilities, Indian water rights
settlements, licensing of non-federal hydro power facilities (i.e., private dams regulated
1 The population in the West is projected to increase by 30% in the next 20-25 years. Western
Water Policy Review Advisory Commission, Water in the West: Challenge for the Next Century
(Denver, CO: June, 1998), p. xiii.
2 For more information on federal involvement in Everglades restoration, see CRS Report
RS20702, South Florida Ecosystem Restoration and the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration
Plan, by Pervaze A. Sheikh and Nicole T. Carter. For information on Bay-Delta issues, see CRS
Issue Brief IB10019, Western Water Resource Issues; and CRS Report RL31975, CALFED Bay-
Delta Program: Overview of Institutional and Water Use Issues, both by Pervaze A. Sheikh and
Betsy A. Cody.

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by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)), and whether to establish a
national water commission to address federal water policy and coordination.
Water Resource Projects
Most of the large dams and water diversion structures in the United States were built
by, or with the assistance of, the Bureau or the Corps. Traditionally, Bureau projects were
designed principally to provide reliable supplies of water for irrigation and some
municipal and industrial uses; Corps projects were designed principally for flood control,
navigation, and power generation. The Bureau currently manages hundreds of storage
reservoirs and diversion dams in 17 western states,3 providing water to approximately 9
million acres of farmland and 31 million people. The Corps’ operations are much more
widespread and diverse, and include several thousand flood control and navigation
projects throughout the country, including 25,000 miles of waterways (with 238
navigation locks), 926 harbors, and 383 dam and reservoir projects (with 75 hydroelectric
plants).
Bureau of Reclamation. Since the early 1900s, the Bureau has constructed and
operated large, multi-purpose water projects; water supplies from these projects have been
primarily for irrigation. Construction authorizations slowed during the 1970s and 1980s
due to several factors. In 1987, the Bureau announced a new mission: environmentally
sensitive water resources management. In the following decade, increased population,
prolonged drought, fiscal constraints, and increased water demands for fish and wildlife,
recreation, and scenic enjoyment resulted in increased pressure to alter operation of many
Bureau projects. Such changes have been controversial, however, as water rights,
contractual obligations, and the potential economic effects of altering project operations
complicate any change in water allocation or project operations.
In contrast to the Corps, there is no tradition of a regularly scheduled authorization
vehicle for Bureau projects. Instead, Bureau projects are generally considered
individually.4 Bureau-related water project and management issues that are likely to be
considered during the 109th Congress include:
! oversight of project operations and environmental requirements (e.g.,
ESA and CWA);
! oversight of the Central Valley [California] Project Improvement Act;
! oversight of, and appropriations for, CALFED (Bay-Delta restoration);
! consideration of a West-wide rural water supply program;
! examination of the Bureau’s Title 16 (recycling and reuse) program;
! authorization of individual water recycling and desalination projects; and
! response to drought conditions.
3 Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North
Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
4 However, Congress occasionally passes omnibus bills addressing key Bureau policy changes,
as well as new or revised project and program authorizations, the latest being the Reclamation
Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-575).

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(For information on these, and other active legislative proposals affecting the Bureau
of Reclamation, see CRS Issue Brief IB10019, Western Water Resource Issues in the 109th
Congress, by Betsy A. Cody and Pervaze A. Sheikh.)
A broader issue that often receives attention from Congress is oversight of the
Bureau’s mission and its future role in western water supply and water resource
management generally. As public demands and concerns have changed, so has legislation
affecting the Bureau. Further, many in Congress have questioned the Bureau’s shift in
focus from a water resources development agency to a water resource management
agency. Some have also questioned the increasing number of proposals to fund new rural
water supply projects with high federal cost-share ratios and grants for reclaiming and
reusing water. Critical questions Congress may address include What should be the future
federal role in water resources development and management? Should (or to what extent
should) the federal government develop or augment new supply systems designed
primarily to serve communities/municipalities, or is this a local/regional responsibility?
Who should pay, and how much? Should the Bureau be involved in environmental
mitigation or is this best handled through new institutional arrangements (e.g., CALFED)
or other existing agencies (e.g., Fish and Wildlife Service and/or the Environmental
Protection Agency)? Should existing projects be revamped or “re-operated” to
accommodate changing demands, and, if so, do new policies and institutions (state-federal
roles) need to be addressed, and again, who should pay? Relatedly, the issue of whether
there should be a National Water Commission or periodic water resource assessments is
also receiving attention in the 109th Congress.
Corps of Engineers. Congress authorizes Corps water resources activities and
makes changes to the agency’s policies generally in a Water Resources Development Act
(WRDA), and at times in the annual Energy and Water Development Appropriations acts.
Contents of a WRDA are cumulative and new acts do not supercede or replace previous
acts. Consideration of two WRDA bills introduced in 2005 continues in 2006. Previous
WRDAs follow a loosely biennial schedule; however, the last WRDA was enacted in
2000. WRDA bills were introduced in 2002, 2003, 2004, and2005, but were not enacted;
their enactment was complicated by debates on whether to authorize controversial
projects, and whether to change the way the Corps plans and evaluates projects.
Consideration of the WRDA bills in the first session of the 109th Congress included
debates in committee on changes to state and local roles in projects, potential changes in
Corps policies and practices (such as changes to Corps permitting and regulatory
practices), and authorization of high profile projects. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, the
project authorizations receiving the most attention were coastal Louisiana wetlands
restoration, lock expansion and ecosystem restoration for the Upper Mississippi
River-Illinois Waterway, and Everglades-related projects. The 2005 hurricane season
added other possible authorizations to the mix, including authorizations for near-term and
long-term hurricane protection measures for Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states and
flood control activities in other areas of the nation vulnerable to flooding. Hurricane
Katrina’s impact on WRDA passage is uncertain; the disaster increased interest in flood
control and Louisiana projects in the bill, while also increasing interest in streamlining
federal spending which has some observers concerned about authorizing more Corps
projects. Pressure to authorize projects, especially projects related to areas affected during
the 2005 hurricane season, and to increase funding or modify existing projects may result
in outstanding issues being addressed or resolved, leading to enactment of WRDA by the

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109th Congress. For more information on current WRDA issues, see CRS Issue Brief
IB10133, Water Resources Development Act (WRDA): Army Corps of Engineers
Authorization Issues in the 109th Congress, coordinated by Nicole T. Carter.
Corps flood control and hurricane protection projects, in particular, are receiving
congressional and public scrutiny following the 2005 hurricane season and Hurricane
Katrina’s impact on New Orleans in particular. This scrutiny is added to the attention
already on the Corps’ river and reservoir management; in many cases, Corps facilities and
their operation are central to debates over multi-purpose river management. For example,
water resources management by the Corps, particularly on the Mississippi, Missouri,
Columbia and Snake Rivers, remains controversial and is frequently challenged in the
courts. During the second session of the 109th Congress, the Corps’ projects and role in
emergency response are expected to remain the subject of congressional oversight,
legislative direction, authorizing legislation, and appropriations.
The 109th Congress continues to address issues related to the Administration’s
adoption of a performance-based-budgeting approach for the agency, as well as safety and
security of Corps facilities, implementation of Florida Everglades ecosystem restoration,
and general financial management. In Energy and Water Development FY2006
appropriations reports, Congress expressed dissatisfaction with the Corps’ financial
management, particularly the reprogramming of funds across projects and the use of
multiyear continuing contracts for projects. For more information on Corps
appropriations topics, see CRS Report RL32852, Energy and Water Development:
FY2006 Appropriations, by Carl Behrens.

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