"WaterSMART" Program Introduced

On Feb. 22, 2010, U.S. Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar signed the "WaterSMART Initiative" to establish a new water sustainability strategy for
the country.

“The federal government’s existing water policies and programs simply aren’t built for 21st century pressures on water supplies,” said U.S. Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar at the Feb. 22, 2010 press conference announcing the new WaterSMART Initiative. He noted the challenges to our water supply include population growth, climate change, rising energy demands, environmental needs, aging infrastructure and risks to drinking
water supplies.

The 2011 proposed budget for the Department of the Interior??s WaterSMART program is $72.9 million, an increase of $36.4 million over the 2010 funding for water programs.

Salazar specifed he is directing the department to increase available water supply for agricultural, municipal, industrial and environmental uses in the western United States by 350,000 acre-feet by 2012.

WaterSMART is focusing on improving water conservation and helping water and resource managers make better decisions about water
use, including:

-Expanding the Bureau of Reclamation??s grant programs and its studies of river basins.

-Conducting for the first time in 30 years a National Water Census.

-Leadership and assistance to state and local governments and others about water conservation and sustainable water strategies.

-Identifing best practices in water conservation, incentives and the most cost-effective technologies.

-A program to reduce overall consumption of potable water by 26 percent by 2020 and industrial, landscaping and agricultural water by 20 percent
by 2020.

-Working with the department??s regional climate science centers and landscape conservation cooperatives to tap into the best available science and ensure field offices of bureaus and agencies have sustainable
water strategies.

Ed??s note: Building more dams and working on better, more economical was to convert salt water to potable water seem like other appropriate strategies.

For a full copy of the WaterSMART initiative: http://doi.gov/news/pressreleases/upload/WaterSMARTOrder.pdf