Federal Water Tap, March 10: CBO Updates Water Infrastructure Spending Data

The Rundown

• State and local governments still responsible for most U.S. water infrastructure funding, CBO finds.
• Supreme Court rejects an administration appeal, clearing the way for $2 billion in foreign aid payments for completed work.
• Federal hurricane forecasts set accuracy record last year.
• Supreme Court narrows Clean Water Act discharge permits.
• Monitoring stations register “abysmal” snowpack in Arizona and New Mexico.

And lastly, Democratic senators from western states ask the administration to preserve water funding and staff.

“Reclamation is already a primarily operational rather than regulatory agency, and staff are indispensable to managing water in the West, where water systems are highly technical, complex, and closely coordinated with state, tribal, and local authorities.” – Letter from six Senate Democrats to Doug Burgum, the interior secretary. The senators, all representing western states, asked the administration for two changes: Resume water conservation payments to farmers and other water users from the Inflation Reduction Act and ensure that staff cuts do not imperil the water management work of the Bureau of Reclamation.

President Trump ordered federal agencies to submit reorganization plans by March 13. The Los Angeles Times reports that Reclamation staff in California worry that cuts will impair operation of reservoirs and canals.

By the Numbers

34: Instances of rapid intensification in Atlantic tropical storms last year, according to the National Hurricane Center. Rapid intensification occurs when winds strengthen substantially – by at least 35 miles per hour in a 24-hour period. It is not a measure of rainfall, which is another storm threat. The number of rapid intensification events last year – which can occur multiple times for a single storm – was nearly double the 10-year average. Warming oceans, a consequence of climate change, contribute to rapid intensification.

96 Percent: Share of total U.S. spending on water supply and wastewater treatment facilities that comes from state and local governments. That’s according to a Congressional Budget Office report that updates the figures through 2023. The share for “water resources,” a category that includes dams, levees, and reservoirs, is less skewed. For that, the state and local share is 69 percent. Spending on operation and maintenance continues to rise faster than capital expenditures.

News Briefs

Court Allows Some Foreign Aid to Resume
In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that forces the federal government to pay out $2 billion in foreign aid for work that was completed before the Trump administration suspended such programs.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court’s three liberal members in the majority.

Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the dissenters, was appalled at the ruling. He described it as “a most unfortunate misstep that rewards an act of judicial hubris and imposes a $2 billion penalty on American taxpayers.”

Clean Water Act Ruling
The justices also weighed in on a Clean Water Act case, ruling in favor of San Francisco in a case that centered on the language used in pollution discharge permits.

The court determined that San Francisco’s permit could not hold the city responsible for the overall water quality in the body of water downstream of its discharge point. “Narrative” requirements such as specific pollution-prevention activities are still allowed in permits, as long as they do not refer to the “end result” in the downstream waters.

Trade groups representing water utilities, including the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, applauded the decision because they said it will force regulators to give their members clear direction on pollution limits.

Lawyers at Arnold and Porter assert that the ruling last week coupled with the Sackett decision from 2024, which limited federal regulation of wetlands and ephemeral streams, illuminate this court’s theory of environmental law. Both rulings “valued clarity for the regulated community.”

Studies and Reports

Storm Tracks
The National Hurricane Center, a branch of NOAA that monitors tropical storms, produced the most accurate forecasts of storm paths in its history last year, according to a preliminary annual internal performance review.

The NHC was less skillful in forecasting storm strength. Intensity forecasts were less accurate than in the previous three years, but better than a decade ago. An increasing number of rapidly intensifying storms, which is an attribute of a changing climate, is making intensity forecasts more challenging, the report states.

Accurate forecasts are essential for identifying a storm’s likely direction so that lives and property can be protected.

The NHC performance review is being delivered as the Trump administration is attempting to hollow out its parent agency. Some 10 percent of NOAA employees were reported in recent weeks to have taken buyouts or been fired. Those numbers are in flux as these presidential edicts are being challenged in court.

The NHC assessment shows the value of investing in storm prediction. When the NHC issues a forecast, it looks at the storm’s development across eight time periods in the future, from 12 hours to 120 hours. The forecasts for each time period was the best the NHC has recorded.

The forecasting skill displayed last year continues a decades-long trend of more accurate hurricane forecasts.

Snow Drought
Near the end of winter, meager amounts of snow have fallen in the mountains of Arizona and New Mexico.

According to the federal government’s snow sensor network, snowpack in many basins in the two states is roughly 25 percent of the 30-year average.

The picture is a big brighter (due to albedo?) farther north. Snowpack in the Cascades of southern Oregon and northern California is well above average, and the northern Rockies are right at average.

On the Radar

Budget Deadline
The federal government will shut down on March 14 unless the parties can agree to a budget deal.

Republican leadership is proposing a continuing resolution that would keep fiscal year 2024 funding in place through the end of September, when the 2025 fiscal year ends. In effect, it’s an acknowledgment of failure: that a formal budget won’t happen this year.

A few water projects, including Sites reservoir in California, are called out specifically for funding.

House Hearing
On March 11, a House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee will hold a hearing on water infrastructure financing.

Federal Water Tap is a weekly digest spotting trends in U.S. government water policy. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton