08.03.01

Senator Cantwell Introduces a Bill on the Lakehaven Water Reclamation Project

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) today announced that she and Senator Patty Murray introduced legislation for the Lakehaven water reclamation project in King and Pierce counties.

The legislation allows the U.S. Interior Department to participate in the design, planning, construction, and land acquisition of the Lakehaven water reclamation project. The bill limits the federal share to 25 percent of total project costs and prohibits funds provided by the Secretary from being used for project operation and maintenance.

Senator Cantwell's floor statement follows:

Mdme./Mr. President, I rise today to introduce important legislation to improving the capacity and reliability of water in the state of Washington.

I thank my friend, Washington state's senior Senator, Patty Murray, who worked on this legislation in the last Congress and who has been a champion of clean water as a member of this body. I look forward to working with her as we build on those efforts in the years to come.

Mdme./Mr. President, the United States economy -- the strongest economy in the world -- is built on our human infrastructure and our physical infrastructure. We have among the most comprehensive air traffic, public transit, highway, and navigable waterway transportation systems; perhaps the most sophisticated energy transmission grids and communication networks; and the most effective drinking water and wastewater systems in the world.

However, in the face of the natural aging and deterioration of these resources, combined with significant population growth, our nation has a massive need for investment in the maintenance and improvement of our resources. Our nation's economic health, and literally the physical health of our constituents, depends on that investment.

In March, the American Society of Civil Engineers released a "Report Card for America's Infrastructure." After an extensive survey of the nation's infrastructure, the group of professionals perhaps most familiar with the technical capabilities of the roads, bridges, dams, runways, and water treatment plants, gave our nation a cumulative grade of D+. The group estimated that our nation needs to invest $1.3 trillion over the next five years to bring our infrastructure up to the standards that keep our overall economy out of the gridlock that has gripped many of our metropolitan areas, that will keep our families safe, and that simply befits the nature of this great nation in striving to be the best in the world.

The legislation that my colleague and I are introducing today addresses only a small piece of this infrastructure, but it is nonetheless important in addressing the growth of our region and the impacts of that growth on the water systems of one part of Washington. This legislation will authorize one project, in one area of our state, but it is essential to maintaining water quality in the Puget Sound region for fish habitat, for wetland restoration, and for meeting the growing demands for water in the many communities served by the Lakehaven Utility District.

Mdme./Mr. President, since 1972 the federal government has spent about $73 billion on wastewater treatment programs. That's certainly no minor contribution, and we have made progress - the elimination of nearly 85 percent of wastewater. Unfortunately, with aging water collection and treatment systems across the nation, it is still estimated that between 35 percent and 45 percent of U.S. surface waters do not meet current water-quality standards. Our nation's 16,000 wastewater systems still face enormous infrastructure funding needs.

While last year Congress appropriated $1.35 billion for wastewater infrastructure, and another $1.35 billion in the legislation for fiscal year 2002 that this body passed yesterday, EPA has estimated that we will need to spend $126 billion by 2016 to fully achieve secondary treatment improvements of existing facilities. So we still have a long way to go, and I intend to keep working on increasing that federal commitment with my colleagues.

Again, the legislation that we are introducing today will take steps toward solving some of these infastructure needs in the Puget Sound area and I will take a moment to explain the legislation.

The Lakehaven Utility District is one of Washington state's largest water and sewer utilities providing 10.5 million gallons of water a day to over 100,000 residents and numerous corporate facilities in south King county and parts of Pierce county. The demand for water from these sources has increased to a point that the district may soon exceed safe water production limits and has resulted in reduction of water levels in all local aquifers.

The District has two secondary wastewater treatment plants that currently discharge more than 6 million gallons of water a day to Puget Sound and the district is certain that techniques successfully used in many parts of this nation to utilize reclaimed water to manage groundwater levels could be used in this region. The district has prepared a plan to construct additional treatment systems at the two wastewater treatment plants in the district, to improve pipeline distribution systems for transporting water to the reuse areas, and systems to direct water back to the aquifer system. If we make these improvements, the district will be able to better maintain stream levels during droughts and recharge the aquifers without using additional surface water.

This legislation authorizes the Bureau of Reclamation to assist in the planning, land acquisition and construction of this important water reclamation project. The bill limits the federal contribution to 25 percent and would comply with other limitations and obligations of the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act.

Mdme./Mr. President, this project would begin to meet the needs of improving the wastewater systems serving a large segment of the Northwest population, and will provide additional protection for vital natural resources, using economically feasible and proven technologies. The federal government has a role in maintaining these systems and assisting in building additional infrastructure to handle our nation's massive needs.

Thus I urge my colleagues to join with us in support of this critical legislation for the state of Washington and our nation, and Mdme./Mr. President, I look forward to working with my colleagues to expeditiously take up and pass this bill.

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