City of Oxnard Water Recycling and Desalination Act of 2006

Mr. Speaker, my hope is that I can explain and demonstrate sufficiently the enthusiasm for this legislation by my constituents in the city of Oxnard. I rise in support of H.R. 2334, and it is called the Oxnard Water Recycling and Desalination Act.

First I want to thank Chairman Pombo and Ranking Member Rahall for their support of this measure. I also want to thank the subcommittee chairman, Mr. Radanovich, and Ranking Member Napolitano and their staffs for the key role in the bill's passage.

H.R. 2334 authorizes a regional water resources project. It is named the Groundwater Recovery Enhancement and Treatment Act, or, as the initials will summarize to, it is the GREAT program, and it is great in many ways, located in my congressional district.

Oxnard, California, as so many communities today, are faced with the difficult task of providing reliable and safe drinking water for their customers. The city of Oxnard has taken this situation and worked on it. It is one of California's fastest growing cities. The water needs of the city's agricultural users has exceeded its local water resources. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy and the region, but at the same time many people are moving to the area.

Now, consequently, over 50 percent of its water has had to be imported from outside sources. Recognizing these challenges, Oxnard developed the GREAT program to address its long-term water needs, and as my colleague, Mr. Kildee from Michigan illustrated, the city itself and the surrounding areas grappled with this issue themselves, recognizing that they needed to be creative and come up with a solution that would meet their needs.

This GREAT program includes a new regional groundwater desalination facility to serve potable water customers in the city of Oxnard. It includes a recycled water system to include agricultural water users and an added protection against seawater intrusion.

Finally, it includes a wetlands restoration component that reuses the discharges from the groundwater desalination and recycled groundwater treatment facilities. It is a full-circle opportunity to take every advantage of the water supplies that are there to enhance them and even to reuse them.

Implementation of this GREAT program will provide many significant regional benefits. It will reduce the consumption of groundwater for agricultural and industrial purposes. It will cut imported delivery water requirements, and it will improve local reliability of high- quality water deliveries. It will also add enormously to the restoration of the wetlands in the region.

Mr. Speaker, I commend this Resources Committee for trying to find innovative and effective ways of extending water supplies in the West.

In my view, the City of Oxnard Water and Desalination Act offers such a creative solution.

Again, I thank the Committee on Resources for supporting this bill, and I urge its immediate passage.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2334, the City of Oxnard Water Recycling and Desalination Act.

First, I want to thank my colleagues from California, the chairman of the Resources Committee, Mr. Pombo, the chairman and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Water and Power, Mr. Radanovich and Ms. Napolitano, as well as the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Rahall, for expediting the consideration of this legislation and for bringing H.R. 2334 before us today.

H.R. 2334 would authorize a proposed regional water resources project--the Groundwater Recovery Enhancement and Treatment or GREAT Program--located in my congressional district.

As you know, many communities today are faced with the difficult task of providing reliable and safe water to their customers. The city of Oxnard is no exception.

Oxnard is one the California's fastest growing cities and is facing an ever growing crisis: It's running out of affordable water. The water needs for the city's agricultural and industrial base, together with its growing population, has exceeded its local water resources. Consequently, over 50 percent of its water has to be imported from outside sources.

However, through a series of local, State and Federal restrictions the amount of imported water available to the city is shrinking, while the cost of that water is rising. Recognizing these challenges, Oxnard developed the GREAT Program to address its long term water needs.

The GREAT Program elements include: a new regional groundwater desalination facility to serve potable water customers in Oxnard and adjacent communities; a recycled water system to serve agricultural water users, and added protection against seawater intrusion and saltwater contamination; and a wetlands restoration and enhancement component that efficiently reuses the brine discharges from both the groundwater desalination and recycled water treatment facilities.

Implementation of the GREAT Program will provide many significant regional benefits.

First, the new desalination component will serve ratepayers in Oxnard and adjacent communities, guaranteeing sufficient water supplies for the area.

Second, Oxnard's current water infrastructure delivers approximately 30 million gallons of treated wastewater per day to an ocean outfall. The GREAT Program will utilize the resource currently wasted to the ocean and treat it so that it can be reused by the agricultural water users in the area.

During the non-growing season, it will inject the resources into to the groundwater to serve as a barrier against seawater intrusion and saltwater contamination. To alleviate severely depressed groundwater levels, this component also includes pumping groundwater into the aquifer to enhance groundwater recharge.

Finally, the brine produced as a by-product of the desalination and recycling plants will provide a year-round supply of nutrient rich water to the existing wetlands at Ormond Beach.

Mr. Speaker, I commend the Resources Committee for trying to find innovative and effective ways of extending water supplies in the West. In my view, the city of Oxnard Water Recycling and Desalination Act offers such a creative solution. It will reduce the consumption of groundwater for agricultural and industrial purposes, cut imported water delivery requirements, and improve local reliability of high quality water deliveries.

Again, I would like to thank the Committee on Resources for supporting this bill, and urge its immediate passage.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2334) to amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the design, planning, and construction of permanent facilities for the GREAT project to reclaim, reuse, and treat impaired waters water in the area of Oxnard, California, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise their remarks and include extraneous material.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2334, sponsored by Congresswoman Lois Capps, authorizes the Bureau of Reclamation to participate in a water recycling and desalting project with the city of Oxnard, California.

As water demands grow and supplies become more scarce in southern Carolina, this bill will help provide regional water supply solutions to the Oxnard Plain. Using an innovative recycling and groundwater injection system, this program will provide many regional benefits and is designed to help meet the city's water supply needs through the year 2030. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2334, legislation sponsored by the gentlewoman from California, Lois Capps.

With almost no assistance from the Federal Government, the city of Oxnard is making significant improvements to its municipal water system. A key part of their project, called the GREAT project, is to stretch local water supplies with new projects for desalting and water recycling. Especially in our western States, projects

like this can help cities protect themselves from drought and reduce the need to import water from distant reservoirs. H.R. 2334 will make a very modest amount of Federal financial help available to help construct this project.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2334.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California, Lois Capps.

(Mrs. CAPPS asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.