Water Monitoring and Tracking Essential Resources (WATER) Data Improvement Act
Public Law 118-174 · H.R. 5770 · 118th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Joe Biden (D) on Dec 23, 2024 · Water Resources Development
Sponsor: Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO-2)
Cosponsors (2): Rep. Juan Ciscomani, Rep. Dina Titus
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
This act reauthorizes through FY2028 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 act 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 act requires that those sensors are precipitation water-quality sensors. The act 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.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Natural Resources Committee · House · discharged from, markup by, referred to, reported bySubcommittee: Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries Subcommittee
Energy and Natural Resources Committee · Senate · discharged from, referred toSubcommittee: Water and Power Subcommittee
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Related bills
1 bill the Library of Congress relates to this one.
S. 4245Related bill
WATER Data Improvement Act
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 24 actions.
- Dec 23, 2024Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 118-174.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Dec 18, 2024FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- CommitteeCommittee · Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources discharged by Unanimous Consent.
- Sep 11, 2024CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power. Hearings held.
- CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by Water and Power Subcommittee of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
- Jul 9, 2024CommitteeCommittee · Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
- Jul 8, 2024FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 5770.
- FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Westerman moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Jun 27, 2024CalendarCalendar · Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 468.
- CommitteeCommittee · Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 118-566.
- Jan 17, 2024CommitteeCommittee · Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Unanimous Consent.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- CommitteeCommittee · Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries Discharged
- Nov 14, 2023CommitteeCommittee · Subcommittee Hearings Held
- CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
- Nov 9, 2023CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries.
- Sep 27, 2023CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in House
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
No amendments to this bill are on record.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.