New water legislation seeks to boost recycling, aid farms and ecosystems

Chaewon Chung, The Sacramento Bee on Feb 4, 2026

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U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla rolled out two new water bills aimed at easing the state’s growing climate-driven water shortages and making water supplies more dependable across the state.

The Making Our Communities Resilient through Enhancing Water for Agriculture, Technology, the Environment, and Residences Act — the MORE WATER Act — and the Growing Resilient Operations from Water Savings and Municipal-Agricultural Reciprocally-beneficial Transactions — the GROW SMART Act — have drawn strong backing from regional water agencies, which praised the measures as important steps toward improving water reliability and affordability throughout the Golden State.

“After years of severe drought and mounting climate impacts, California needs bold solutions and sustained federal investment to confront water scarcity challenges in both cities and agricultural communities across the state,” Padilla, a Democrat, said in a news release Wednesday.

Inside the two bills

The proposed MORE WATER Act would extend a key Bureau of Reclamation program created under the Biden-era Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that offers federal grants covering up to 25% of the cost of large water recycling projects in California and other Western states, backed by a $450 million authorization over five years.

The bill would also create a new program for water conveyance improvements, providing funding to upgrade aging infrastructure and build new facilities needed to move water supplies.

The GROW SMART Act would set up a pilot program at the bureau to test new approaches to crop production and groundwater management, with $25 million over five years for projects that try out “innovative” water‑saving technologies.

“The MORE WATER Act is a great example of finding common ground between the agricultural sector, water supply sector and environmental sector,” Ian Lyle, director of federal relations at Association of California Water Agencies said on Wednesday, while describing the GROW SMART Act as a “unique” approach that tests new water‑saving practices on working farmland rather than simply taking land out of production.

While noting that the proposed funding doesn’t seem like it meets the national needs, Conner Everts, executive director of the Southern California Watershed Alliance, said it is “good to get the Bureau of Reclamation to reinvest in recycling and conservation rather than ocean desalination.”

“Recycled water protection is generally something environmentalists support with a sense of priority and cost,” Everts said. “Increased efficiency with agriculture with investments is always needed.”

The bill is to head next to a hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, followed by a committee “markup” where senators can debate and amend it before deciding whether to send it to the full Senate — or potentially attach it to a larger package of legislation.

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