The West depends on a vast, aging network of dams, reservoirs, diversions, canals, pipelines, levees, wells, pumps, treatment facilities, hydropower facilities, and related works to store, move, treat, and protect water. This infrastructure supports drinking water, irrigation, wastewater treatment, flood control, hydropower, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, and fulfillment of interstate compacts, tribal settlements, and other legal obligations. Federal water infrastructure programs and projects are critical to the states. They should be treated as core public health, public safety, and water management infrastructure, not as optional or intermittently funded programs.

Position 511 – Supporting Water Infrastructure Funding
Position 501 – Regarding the Reclamation Fund
Position 498 – Supporting National Dam Safety Programs
Position 493 – Regarding the Reclamation Safety of Dams Act
Position 528 – Supporting Rural Water Infrastructure Needs & Projects
Position 518 – Supporting Rural Water Supply Project/Infrastructure Needs
Position 492 – Regarding Bureau of Reclamation Maintenance, Repair and Rehabilitation Needs

Quantifying and settling Indian water rights is essential to long-term water security across the West. The WSWC supports universal access to clean, reliable drinking water and urges Congress to maintain and expand funding for Indian water rights settlements. These agreements benefit all parties and protect existing state water uses without the cost, disruption, and uncertainty of litigation. The WSWC also strongly supports continued federal investment in clean drinking water infrastructure, which is vital to the public health, educational outcomes, and economic vitality of federally recognized Indian Tribes.

Position 504 – Supporting Indian Water Rights Settlements
Position 514 – Universal Access to Reliable, Clean Drinking Water for Federally Recognized Indian Tribes

Agriculture is essential to the western economy and way of life. It depends on reliable, accessible water supplies to sustain rural communities and feed the nation. Many producers and rural communities face mounting pressure from drought, declining water supplies, and inadequate infrastructure. The WSWC urges Congress to maintain and expand funding for USDA conservation programs that promote efficient water use, achieve net water savings, and reduce nonpoint source pollution. The WSWC also urges continued investment in USDA rural water and wastewater infrastructure programs, which provide essential financial and technical assistance to small, rural, and tribal communities.

Position 505 – Supporting USDA Conservation Programs and Water Resources
Position 497 – Regarding Rural Water and Wastewater Project/Infrastructure Needs and USDA Programs

The West contains hundreds of thousands of abandoned hardrock mines that pose significant hazards to regional water quality. The WSWC supports federal efforts to eliminate the liability hurdles that “Good Samaritans” face when volunteering to clean up these toxic sites. While the WSWC applauds the establishment of the Good Samaritan Pilot Program, much more remains to be done. The WSWC urges Congress to provide sufficient funding for timely project progress, and calls on the administration to engage meaningfully with states to ensure these pilot projects deliver real, on-the-ground results.

Position 526 – Regarding Abandoned Hardrock Mine Cleanup

State primacy is essential to a sustainable water future. Federal planning, policy, and regulation must recognize and defer to state water laws, compacts, and water rights administration. Rather than dictate water policy, the federal government should engage states as coregulators early in legislative and rulemaking processes. Promoting the well-being of all Americans is a core federal obligation. WSWC supports a strong federal-state partnership to ensure that the West and the Nation have the water infrastructure, financing tools, safety and drought resilience programs, and delivery mechanisms needed to store, move, treat, and protect water reliably and safely. These investments are foundational to public health, public safety, economic security, environmental stewardship, and the long-term resilience of western communities. When the federal government works with western states rather than around them, the result is better water policy, more durable outcomes, greater economic prosperity, and stronger protections for western communities.

Position 499 – Regarding Preemption of State Law in Federal Legislation
Position 503 – Regarding Water-Related Federal Rules, Regulations, Directives, Orders and Policies
Position 531 – Regarding Clean Water Act Jurisdiction
Position 521 – Supporting State Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Authority
Position 520 – Regarding the Endangered Species and State Water Rights
Position 517 – Regarding State Nutrient Reduction Strategies
Position 515 – State Primacy over Groundwater
Western States Water Council: A VISION ON WATER