Water

California is enduring its worst drought in 1,200 years, and a growing number of communities across the West have become impacted by severe drought conditions. Although this challenge is not new to the arid West, it is compounded by a complex and often contradictory system of laws, court decisions, and regulations, at the state and federal level, that are failing the needs of both people and species.  

California’s water system is one of the most sophisticated in the world and has served as a catalyst for economic prosperity. That pioneering approach has since been abandoned and the effects have devastated our communities, threatened our food security, and have placed undue burden on our environment. 

The Western Water and American Food Security Act of 2015 would rebalance water policies in California and the West. Requiring federal and state agencies to use better science, and rooting their regulatory decisions in that new science will provide more water provided to our parched communities. It also enacts permitting reforms aimed at building infrastructure to capture water for humans and species. This would enable the movement and storage of water throughout California to better prepare for future droughts, so that the great frontier can continue to grow.

On July 16, 2015 the House of Representatives passed The Western Water and American Food Security Act of 2015 by a bipartisan vote of 245 to 146.

Congressman McCarthy delivers floor speech on the Western Water and American Food Security Act of 2015