Rep. Dina Titus Provisions Included in Water Resources Development Act of 2026

Rep. Dina Titus Provisions Included in Water Resources Development Act of 2026

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today finalized the Water Resources Development Act of 2026 to fund the Army Corps of Engineers for the next two years, including provisions proposed by Rep. Dina Titus to strengthen water conservation efforts.

"The prolonged drought and the shrinking Colorado River make it imperative that we think outside the box and use every tool possible to mitigate our water supply crisis," Congresswoman Titus said. "This legislation strengthens the ability of the Army Corps of Engineers to protect dwindling water supplies. It includes provisions I championed to create an Office of Water Supply, Water Conservation, and Drought Resilience that would promote water conservation and drought resiliency measures at federal water projects such as those to optimize reservoir storage, support aquifer storage and recharge, and institute nature-based solutions in drought-prone areas."

Another provision Congresswoman Titus led in the package would direct the Army Corps to consider the impact of data centers on water supply and conservation projects.

"We need to better understand the effects data centers will have on water supplies, particularly in desert areas like Southern Nevada prone to drought," she said. "Two-thirds of proposed data centers are in drought-prone regions. Communities want transparency about how this influx of data centers will impact their water supply. We need to make sure that federal agencies follow due process and hold public hearings before transferring public lands to data center companies and using up this vital resource."

The WRDA 2026 bill also includes provisions championed by Congresswoman Titus to create a pilot program to use natural infrastructure in dryland streams in arid and desert regions.

This program will be beneficial in Nevada, where 88 percent of streams are ephemeral, including the Amargosa River recently labeled one of America's most endangered rivers.

Other provisions led by Congresswoman Titus in the legislation are:

• Drought Resiliency Projects: Establishes two new programs to carry out small-scale projects for drought resiliency and flood control structure enhancement.
• Dam Safety: Reauthorizes the dam safety program through 2031 and gives states the flexibility they need to protect communities from flooding.
• Trucker River Flood Control Project: Provides needed reauthorizations to ensure continued implementation of the Truckee River Flood Management Project (TRMA). Through this project, the cities of Reno and Sparks, Washoe County and numerous other stakeholders are working together to reduce the devastating impacts of flooding along the Truckee River in Washoe County.
• Invasive Species: Adds "aquatic invasive species identification, containment, mitigation, and eradication" to the list of authorized projects under the Tahoe Section 108 program.