Rep. Susie Lee Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Modernize Water Data Information Sharing to Better Manage Water Resources

WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) and Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) introduced the Water Data Act (H.R. 7792), bipartisan legislation that would create a national framework for water data and support collaboration and innovation across federal agencies, state and local entities, and water users. Reps. Lee and Stansbury introduced this legislation along with Reps. Burgess Owens (R-UT), Yvette Herrell (R-NM), and 10 additional co-sponsors.

The Water Data Act is designed to transform and modernize water management across the United States by putting the power of data and science into the hands of communities, farmers, and water managers. The Water Data Act will create a national framework to unleash the power of water data, address longstanding technical challenges in water data and science, create a national Water Data Council, and establish a new grant program to invest in innovation and new technologies to support water management.
Rep. Lee has a strong track record of fighting for water solutions in Nevada and throughout the West. Last year, Rep. Lee's bipartisan Large-Scale Water Recycling Project Investment Act was included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was signed into law in November 2021. Rep. Lee also introduced the Open Access Evapotranspiration Data (OpenET) Act, which would establish a program under the Department of the Interior (DOI) that uses publicly available data from satellites and weather stations to provide estimates of evapotranspiration (ET), a critical measure of the water that is consumed and removed from a water system.

"We are facing the worst drought in more than twelve centuries," said Rep. Susie Lee. "The reality is you can't manage what you can't measure – our federal agencies must work together to solve our water crisis and that means we must share water information and data across agencies. I'm proud to introduce this common-sense, bipartisan bill to help us manage our water resources more efficiently."

"Across the west, farmers, ranchers, and industries are experiencing the worst drought in over 1,200 years, making a collaborative approach critical for water management," said Rep. Burgess Owens. "The Water Data Act replaces out-of-date, hard-to-use information with real-time, accurate data that will help communities in their around-the-clock efforts to deliver and conserve water. On behalf of Utahns in the Fourth District and Americans across the west, I am proud to support this important bill to increase efficiency, conservation, and water usage."

"Ensuring that federal agencies adopt coordinated standards for reporting water data will enable states, tribes, and local communities to more easily access this information, which is vital during the severe drought conditions in New Mexico is currently experiencing," said Rep. Yvette Herrell. "This same collaboration will be necessary across the West as major water sources, such as the Rio Grande, are strained due to dry conditions. Government accountability and transparency should not be a partisan issue and I am pleased to be cosponsor of the bi-partisan Water Data Act."

The Water Data Act will:

• Establish a national water data framework for sharing, integrating, and utilizing water data and supporting the development of innovative water data technologies and tools.
• Develop common standards for water data to unlock the power of existing and future data for use in countless tools and technologies to empower water users and managers.
• Organize and direct federal agencies that generate and use water data to work together.
• Support consultation, coordination, and partnerships with stakeholders by permanently authorizing the Advisory Committee on Water Information.
• Establish a new grant program under the Department of the Interior to invest in improving water data in partnership with state, local, and other organizations.
• Invest in next-generation water data technologies and tools to transform water management.

The legislation is supported by the following organizations:

• Center for Water Security and Cooperation
• Environmental Defense Fund
• Family Farm Alliance
• Internet of Water
• Interstate Council on Water Policy
• Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District
• National Audubon Society
• National Groundwater Association
• New Mexico Acequia Association
• New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources
• New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau
• Pacific Institute
• Sandia Pueblo
• South Columbia Basin Irrigation District
• Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
• Trout Unlimited
• Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans
• Water Foundation
• Western States Water Council
• We the People of Detroit

You can read more about the Water Data Act here and the full bill text is here.

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