A bipartisan infrastructure bill is headed to President Joe Biden’s desk after passage in the house last week. Some funding will be designated for the Colorado River basin.
Even once the bill is signed into law, that’s just the beginning of figuring out where exactly the money will go. Now that’s up to federal agencies like the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Reclamation.
In total, $8.3 billion are earmarked for water infrastructure in the West, a big chunk of which will go to the Colorado River basin. Three hundred million will help implement the basin’s drought contingency plans. And a portion of 2.3 billion is for ecosystem restoration.
Activists say this legislation will help fix issues with existing infrastructure and the yet-to-be-passed Build Back Better plan contains more funding for adapting to climate change in the future.
