WATER Data Improvement Act
Latest action · Nov 21, 2024 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 621.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 2, 2024
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Water Monitoring and Tracking Essential Resources Data Improvement Act or the WATER Data Improvement Act
This bill reauthorizes through FY2029 the following initiatives of the United States Geological Survey (USGS): (1) Federal Priority Streamgage program (previously known as the National Streamflow Information Program); (2) groundwater monitoring program, including the National Groundwater Monitoring Network; and (3) grants for water estimation, measurement, and monitoring technologies and methodologies.
The bill also modifies the Federal Priority Streamgage program, which measures and tracks the amount of water in nationally significant watersheds and provides information about those watersheds and their conditions, such as floods and droughts. Currently, the USGS must ensure that all streamgages are equipped with water-quality sensors. The bill requires that those sensors are precipitation water-quality sensors. The bill also requires each streamgage site to conform with the federal needs established through regular solicitation and feedback, such as that documented in the report titled Re-prioritization of the U.S. Geological Survey Federal Priority streamgage program, 2022.
Finally, the bill requires the USGS to coordinate with the applicable Indian tribe, tribal organization, or Native Hawaiian organization with jurisdiction over a given aquifer before initiating groundwater monitoring activities on tribal land.
Cosponsors 2
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on May 2, 2024.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CO | John W. Hickenlooper | Original | May 2, 2024 |
| D-OR | Ron Wyden | Original | May 2, 2024 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Energy and Natural Resources Committee | Referred May 2, 2024Markup Nov 19, 2024Reported Nov 21, 2024 |
| Water and Power Subcommittee | Hearings Sep 11, 2024 |
Actions 6
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Nov 21, 2024Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Manchin with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
- Nov 21, 2024Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 621.
- Nov 19, 2024Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- Sep 11, 2024Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 118-405.
- May 2, 2024Introduced in Senate
- May 2, 2024Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 118-405 | PENDING LEGISLATION126 pages | Energy and Natural Resources Committee | Sep 11, 2024 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 5770 | Water Monitoring and Tracking Essential Resources (WATER) Data Improvement Act | Related bill | Dec 23, 2024 |
Titles 4
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to reauthorize certain United States Geological Survey water data enhancement programs, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Water Monitoring and Tracking Essential Resources Data Improvement Act
- Short Title(s) as Reported to Senate
- WATER Data Improvement Act
- Water Monitoring and Tracking Essential Resources Data Improvement Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources.
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Nov 21, 2024Reported to Senate
- May 2, 2024Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
