South OC Times

Congressmen Ken Calvert (CA-41) and Darrell Issa (CA-48) have announced the inclusion of a $100 million authorization for the South Perris Groundwater Desalination program in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), H.R. 8812. This represents a $50 million increase from the previous 2020 WRDA bill. The bill was drafted by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO). The Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) requested this authorization to construct Stage II of the desalination program, which is expected to add up to 5.4 million gallons of potable water per day for customers.

“Water is a precious resource that must always be used wisely. And with breakthrough innovations like desalination, we can also increase water supply in ways unimagined a generation ago,” said Rep. Issa. “This is a true win for our Southern California region. My thanks to Rep. Calvert and the GOP Congress for providing the Eastern Municipal Water District with the resources to provide a new and sustainable water supply where it will make a lasting difference.”

“Expanding the federal authorization for the EMWD South Perris Groundwater Desalination program will pave the way to bringing more federal resources to our region to grow our local water supply,” said Rep. Calvert. “I’m proud to work along with Rep. Issa to secure this important infrastructure win for our region. By reducing our dependence on imported water sources, the Inland Empire can improve affordability and access to water for residents and businesses.”

“EMWD sincerely thanks its congressional delegation for securing this very important provision in the House’s WRDA 2024 measure,” said EMWD Board Vice President Stephen Corona. “The language they championed in this bill will expand a critical project which has created a new and sustainable local water supply for Western Riverside County. This is major win for water ratepayers in EMWD’s service area that spans four congressional districts. We are extremely grateful for the steadfast and bipartisan support of the South Perris Groundwater Desalination program over the years —the success of this undertaking would not have been possible without these efforts.”

Read the bill text here.