The US Department of the Interior announced on 15 April 2009 the investment of US$1 billion under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) in America’s water infrastructure to create jobs and get the economy moving again. Of this, US$ 135 million is available for grants for water reuse and recycling projects.
The announcement was made by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar with California congressional leaders and governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in Sacramento. California is emerging as a leader in the development of reuse and recycling projects and is expected to also significantly benefit from this funding.
Of the US$1 billion that Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation is investing in water projects across the country, US$260 million will go to projects in California that will expand water supplies, repair aging water infrastructure and mitigate the effects of a devastating drought the state is currently experiencing.