PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 621.
Congressional Research Service
Version 25 · Reported to Senate · Nov 21, 2024
Water Monitoring and Tracking Essential Resources Data Improvement Act or the WATER Data Improvement Act
This bill reauthorizes through FY2029 the following initiatives of the United States Geological Survey (USGS): (1) Federal Priority Streamgage program (previously known as the National Streamflow Information Program); (2) groundwater monitoring program, including the National Groundwater Monitoring Network; and (3) grants for water estimation, measurement, and monitoring technologies and methodologies.
The bill also modifies the Federal Priority Streamgage program, which measures and tracks the amount of water in nationally significant watersheds and provides information about those watersheds and their conditions, such as floods and droughts. Currently, the USGS must ensure that all streamgages are equipped with water-quality sensors. The bill requires that those sensors are precipitation water-quality sensors. The bill also requires each streamgage site to conform with the federal needs established through regular solicitation and feedback, such as that documented in the report titled Re-prioritization of the U.S. Geological Survey Federal Priority streamgage program, 2022.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Finally, the bill requires the USGS to coordinate with the applicable Indian tribe, tribal organization, or Native Hawaiian organization with jurisdiction over a given aquifer before initiating groundwater monitoring activities on tribal land.
People & committees
Sen. Lummis, Cynthia M. [R-WY] · R–WY
Legislative record
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Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 621.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Manchin with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Manchin with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 118-405.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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