Sheldon Whitehouse Leads Senate Budget Cmte Hearing On Impact Of Climate Change On Water Scarcity

7 months ago

The Senate Budget Committee holds a hearing to discuss climate change's impact of water scarcity.

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Transcript

00:00:00 Let me begin by expressing condolences to my distinguished ranking member for the loss

00:00:09 of life in Iowa when a tornado that was described as apocalyptic touched down and caused considerable

00:00:19 death and destruction.

00:00:23 Today we have a different topic.

00:00:26 We address how climate change is making droughts more severe, which magnifies so many of the

00:00:33 other risks that we've talked about in this committee.

00:00:36 Climate change exacerbates the severity of droughts.

00:00:40 Major agricultural regions like the American West and the Mediterranean are seeing less

00:00:45 precipitation.

00:00:47 Many places around the world are whiplashed by wild swings between drought and deluge.

00:00:54 Almost everywhere is experiencing increased heat.

00:00:57 The most straightforward of these is increased heat.

00:01:01 Hotter weather means higher demand for water to drink, to support agriculture, even to

00:01:06 cool power plants.

00:01:08 But without cold weathers, less snowfall accumulates in mountains and there's less runoff into

00:01:13 streams, rivers, and watersheds during the summer months.

00:01:17 Snowpack across the American West is down almost 25 percent since 1955.

00:01:25 As temperatures go up, the pace of water returning to the atmosphere from soils and plants also

00:01:29 goes up.

00:01:31 Global warming is turbocharging evaporation and transpiration.

00:01:36 Without water, the agricultural industry suffers.

00:01:41 Manufacturing slows.

00:01:43 Communities empty out and real estate values can plummet.

00:01:47 The costs of running out of water can be existential.

00:01:51 Since 1980, 31 droughts have cost the nation an average of $11.6 billion each in physical

00:01:59 and economic damages, notably not counting loss of life and other non-monetary harms.

00:02:06 But the true costs of drought are more systemic and amplify dangers this committee has heard

00:02:10 about.

00:02:12 Hot dry weather increases the risk of wildfires.

00:02:15 These fires, along with climate-driven flood risks, are creating an insurance crisis that

00:02:21 the economist says could cause a $25 trillion hit to global property values.

00:02:27 This was their cover article two issues ago, and I commend it to anyone who is interested.

00:02:35 Worsening droughts threaten national security.

00:02:38 Droughts have contributed to conflict and instability in Syria, Guatemala, Honduras,

00:02:42 and El Salvador.

00:02:43 The United Nations estimates that 1.84 billion people worldwide, nearly a quarter of humanity,

00:02:50 lived under drought conditions between 2022 and 2023, the vast majority in low- and middle-income

00:02:56 countries.

00:02:58 Droughts also jeopardize some of the world's most important waterways and reduce food production,

00:03:03 raising prices in grocery aisles.

00:03:06 Years of drought depleted the Panama Canal, cutting ship traffic in this major thoroughfare

00:03:10 by nearly 40 percent.

00:03:13 And intense Mediterranean drought caused global olive oil prices to rise 130 percent in 2023.

00:03:21 The former executive director of agri-giant Cargill warned that as a result of climate

00:03:27 change, and I'm quoting him here, "U.S. production of corn, soybeans, wheat, and cotton could

00:03:32 decline by 14 percent by mid-century and by as much as 42 percent by late century."

00:03:40 More infrastructure, the foundation of our economy, is also harmed.

00:03:44 Glen Canyon Dam's electric power-generating infrastructure has been damaged by low water

00:03:48 levels.

00:03:50 New and expanded reservoirs, channels, even desalinization plants could be needed to make

00:03:55 up water loss.

00:03:57 Much of this infrastructure will likely be funded by the federal government.

00:04:01 And more infrastructure means higher capital and operating costs, so utility companies

00:04:04 will raise rates, putting the burden ultimately on households and businesses.

00:04:10 Inflation flows downstream.

00:04:14 As droughts worsen, some places just won't have the water to meet demand, creating hard

00:04:19 choices likely to fall most heavily on farmers and low-income households.

00:04:24 Development options will wither in places where increased aridity leads to real water

00:04:29 scarcity.

00:04:30 Even communities that rely on oil and gas for tax revenue should be concerned about

00:04:34 the risks of drought, as water supports fossil fuel production and cools fossil fuel power

00:04:40 plants.

00:04:41 Water shortage can lead to stranded assets for companies and a declining tax base for

00:04:46 communities.

00:04:47 Today, we'll hear about the crisis of water scarcity from three different witnesses who

00:04:51 all face the same fundamental challenge.

00:04:54 How do we make do with less?

00:04:58 The hard choices and mounting costs associated with water scarcity are the result of decades

00:05:04 of negligence on climate.

00:05:07 We have a chance still to make a different decision, and I hope we will.

00:05:14 Recognize Senator Grassley.

00:05:18 First of all, I thank you for recognizing the tragedy that happened in Greenfield, Iowa.

00:05:24 Probably if you were watching morning television that's national, you would have seen it on

00:05:29 television this very morning.

00:05:33 So before we start, since the Senate is in session and I can't be in Iowa, I want to

00:05:38 share my thoughts are with the people of Iowa during these troubled times, especially those

00:05:49 in Adair County.

00:05:51 My staff is on the ground right now in Greenfield touring unimaginable destruction from storms

00:05:57 yesterday.

00:05:59 I want to commend the first responders and emergency managers for their caring and humane

00:06:07 work.

00:06:08 I stand ready to help as our communities recover.

00:06:13 Sadly, several fatalities have been reported, so Barbara and I are praying for the families

00:06:19 who have lost loved ones and for those who have lost their homes and businesses so unexpectedly.

00:06:28 As to the subject of today's hearing, as with the previous 17 hearings, I've invited qualified

00:06:40 scientists to provide a reasoned view on the very real challenges that we face as a result

00:06:47 of changing climate.

00:06:49 I welcome Dr. Pilkey to the committee, formerly a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric

00:06:57 Research.

00:06:58 He'll tell us how the International Panel on Climate Change is uncertain as to the impact

00:07:04 of climate change on drought.

00:07:07 In fact, the IPCC has not detected strong trends in any of the three types of drought,

00:07:16 meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, in any region of the entire world.

00:07:23 I also look forward to hearing from Dr. Castellano from Iowa State Department of Agronomy.

00:07:33 The doctor extenses work on soil composition, shows us that there's no reason why farmers

00:07:40 can't adapt to climate change, preserve our environmental health, and turn a profit at

00:07:47 the same time.

00:07:49 Rather than speculate on climate change doomsday, we Iowans prefer to confront problems head

00:07:56 on.

00:07:57 Drought is a problem that we know better than most Americans.

00:08:01 I keep track of rain levels each week when I go home to the Grassley Farm.

00:08:07 Finally, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to submit an article titled, quote, "The Importance of

00:08:17 Extinguishing Climate Science from Climate Activism," end of quote, by Dr. Buntgen of

00:08:26 the University of Cambridge, and put that in the record.

00:08:29 Without objection.

00:08:31 He's worried about activists who pretend to be scientists, and we should all make sure

00:08:38 that we're following sound science.

00:08:43 He hit the nail on the head when he wrote, quote, "Activists often adopt scientific arguments

00:08:50 as a source of moral legitimation for their movements, which can be radical and destructive

00:08:57 rather than rational and constructive," end of quote.

00:09:02 We've seen our fair share of activists testify before the Budget Committee on matters well

00:09:08 outside of what this committee was set up to do.

00:09:13 I welcome all of our witnesses today.

00:09:16 Thank you very much.

00:09:17 We have five witnesses today, including witnesses from New Mexico and California and Oregon

00:09:23 who will be introduced by their senators.

00:09:27 The first is Ms. Trujillo.

00:09:30 Welcome, Tanya Trujillo.

00:09:33 Senator Lujan, you have the floor to introduce your witness.

00:09:36 Well, good morning, Chairman, and to our Ranking Member, and thank you for holding this important

00:09:41 hearing on the risks that worsening droughts have on our economy and our budget.

00:09:47 Today I'm honored to have the opportunity to introduce my good friend and fellow New

00:09:51 Mexican, Tanya Trujillo.

00:09:53 I always feel grateful when New Mexicans appear before our committee sharing their expertise

00:09:59 with our committee colleagues to answer questions, tough questions, and especially providing

00:10:06 a perspective with more extreme drought conditions.

00:10:10 New Mexicans know drought like few others.

00:10:12 We've lived in it for centuries, mastering innovative techniques to conserve precious

00:10:16 water resources and protect diverse wetland ecosystems.

00:10:21 Water is New Mexico's way of life, the foundation for the food we eat, the businesses we create,

00:10:27 and the cultural traditions we pass on.

00:10:30 Ms. Trujillo's testimony will illustrate the challenges facing water managers in the

00:10:35 Southwest in dealing with extreme drought.

00:10:38 But it's not just New Mexico seeing these impacts on our economy.

00:10:41 As Tanya will make clear, the future of our nation's water supply can no longer depend

00:10:46 on lessons from the past.

00:10:48 States are losing the tools they have relied on for a long time to anticipate future supply

00:10:54 and manage competing needs.

00:10:57 In the end, it will be all water users, consumers, businesses, farmers and ranchers, and more,

00:11:03 that will bear the brunt of these decisions in higher costs and reduced supply.

00:11:08 Ms. Trujillo also brings this committee her decades of experience on water litigation,

00:11:15 professional development, support, along with her tireless public service to our country.

00:11:24 As Assistant Secretary to the Department of Interior for Water and Science, Ms. Trujillo

00:11:29 oversaw key agencies responsible for the sustainable management and development of our freshwater

00:11:34 resources.

00:11:35 She now serves as Water Policy Advisor for the Office of New Mexico Governor Michelle

00:11:39 Lujan Grisham, where I am glad her talents will be used to help New Mexicans secure their

00:11:44 water future.

00:11:46 Thank you again, Chairman Whitehouse and Ranking Member Grassley, for this opportunity to introduce

00:11:49 our witness.

00:11:50 I look forward to hearing from Ms. Trujillo and the rest of our witnesses.

00:11:55 Thanks very much, Senator Lujan.

00:11:57 Our next witness is Mr. Adel Hajkalil, who will be introduced by Senator Padilla of California.

00:12:05 You have the floor to make your introduction, Senator Padilla.

00:12:08 Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:12:09 It's certainly my pleasure to introduce my friend and our witness today, Mr. Adel Hajkalil,

00:12:15 a fellow engineer, a fellow Angeleno, a fellow son of immigrants.

00:12:21 Mr. Hajkalil is the General Manager and Chief Executive Officer for the Metropolitan Water

00:12:27 District of Southern California, the largest wholesale drinking water supplier in the country

00:12:35 that provides water to 26 member public agencies, which collectively serve roughly 5 percent

00:12:44 not just of the Los Angeles population, not of the California population, 5 percent of

00:12:49 our nation's population.

00:12:52 Roughly 19 million people rely on the Metropolitan Water District.

00:12:58 And just to put that into context for my colleagues, that's more people served by his agency alone

00:13:06 than the entire population of every other state represented on this dais.

00:13:15 Under Mr. Hajkalil's leadership, Metropolitan is entering a new era of sustainability and

00:13:22 resiliency in the face of climate change and other threats to Southern California's water

00:13:27 reliability.

00:13:29 Before joining Metropolitan, he was the Executive Director and General Manager of the City of

00:13:33 Los Angeles' Bureau of Street Services, where he worked to integrate climate adaptation

00:13:40 into the largest municipal street system in the nation.

00:13:44 I first came to know Adele when he was Assistant General Manager of the Los Angeles Bureau

00:13:49 of Sanitation.

00:13:50 There are few water managers anywhere in the country, and I'd argue in the world, who have

00:13:57 more experience with and better understand the impacts of more extreme droughts on water

00:14:03 utilities and their budgets, and what drought-impacted utilities are doing to adapt their water supplies

00:14:11 and infrastructure to meet our drinking water and sanitation needs.

00:14:16 And as Mr. Hajkalil and I have spent a lot of time collaborating on him, he has been

00:14:20 laser-focused on what all this means for household water rates, and especially for low-income

00:14:28 communities' water rates.

00:14:30 So I want to thank Mr. Hajkalil for flying here from Los Angeles to participate today.

00:14:36 And Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this critical meeting.

00:14:39 Thank you very much, Senator Padilla.

00:14:40 Our next witness is Mr. Kevin Richards from Oregon, who will be introduced by his fellow

00:14:45 Oregonian, Senator Merkley.

00:14:46 Senator, you have the floor to make your introduction.

00:14:49 Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

00:14:50 And I'm delighted that Kevin Richards is here, accompanied by his two sons, to share his

00:14:55 on-the-ground experience of farming in our home state.

00:14:59 Our farmers in Oregon are facing immense challenges.

00:15:02 The West is in the midst of a historic drought.

00:15:06 Depends of our water have never been higher, while water levels have never been lower.

00:15:11 And climate chaos is making our summers hotter, drier, and longer.

00:15:16 In Oregon, as temperatures have climbed, the average snowpack in the Cascade Mountains

00:15:20 has dropped an average of more than 20 feet over the last 90 years.

00:15:24 That means less water for our streams, less water for our farmers, and less water for

00:15:29 our ranchers.

00:15:31 And the supply of snowmelt runs out earlier in the spring or summer than in the past.

00:15:37 Farmers across Oregon have been grappling with these challenges.

00:15:41 One of those farmers is our Kevin Richards from Fox Hollow Ranch in Madras, Oregon.

00:15:46 He's a second-generation farmer.

00:15:49 His family specializes in growing seed crops like carrots and Kentucky bluegrass.

00:15:53 He also grows peppermint oil, wheat, alfalfa, hay.

00:15:57 Before Mr. Richards dug into the soil of Jefferson County, he fought for our farmers here in

00:16:02 Washington, D.C. as Director of Regulatory Relations for the American Farm Bureau Federation.

00:16:08 He's felt the effects of this prolonged drought in central Oregon firsthand.

00:16:13 Last summer, he was among hundreds of farmers who received only half as much water as usual,

00:16:19 which means, of course, fewer crops and less income.

00:16:23 To address the shortage of water, Mr. Richards has invested in irrigation modernization programs

00:16:28 like drip irrigation and wireless irrigation monitoring to improve the efficiency of his

00:16:34 farms.

00:16:35 To ensure the crops we need and more farmland doesn't fall fallow, it's vital that we support

00:16:41 our family farmers like Mr. Richards.

00:16:43 It's also important that irrigation districts increase efficiency in their delivery of water.

00:16:48 That's why I worked across the aisle with former Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi

00:16:52 to revive the Department of Agriculture's Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations

00:16:56 Program, known back home as PL 566, to invest in irrigation modernization projects, specifically

00:17:04 the piping of irrigation districts to lose, to decrease the loss both to the ground and

00:17:10 to evaporation.

00:17:12 We need many more of these investments across Oregon and across the West so that in the future

00:17:18 Mr. Richards can pass on his Fox Hollow family farm to his sons like his father passed it

00:17:24 on to him.

00:17:25 It's a pleasure to welcome him here today.

00:17:27 Good to have you.

00:17:30 Thank you, Senator Merkley.

00:17:32 After Mr. Richards, we'll hear from Dr. Michael Castellano, who is an associate professor

00:17:38 and William T. Frankenberger Professor of Soil Science in the Department of Agronomy

00:17:43 at Iowa State University.

00:17:45 Let me extend my condolences to you as well as an Iowan.

00:17:50 He participates in the university's Environmental Science, Sustainable Agriculture, and Ecology

00:17:54 and Evolutionary Biology Interdepartmental Graduate Degree Programs.

00:17:58 His research focuses on the nitrogen cycle and ways it can be made more efficient and

00:18:03 sustainable.

00:18:04 Last, we have Dr. Roger Pilkey, who has been on the faculty of the University of Colorado

00:18:09 Boulder since 2001, where he teaches and writes on a diverse range of policy and governance

00:18:15 issues related to science, technology, environment, innovation, and sports.

00:18:20 He is also a non-resident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he

00:18:26 focuses on science and technology policy, the politicization of science, government

00:18:32 science advice, and energy and climate.

00:18:35 Mr. Hillel, we'll begin with you.

00:18:37 You have five minutes to make your opening statement and your complete statement, like

00:18:41 those, that of all the other witnesses will be made a matter of record.

00:18:45 Please proceed.

00:18:46 Thank you.

00:18:47 Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to testify on this important subject.

00:18:53 Thank you, Senator Lujan, for the introduction, and thank you, Senator Grassley, for looking

00:18:58 out for the Iowans.

00:18:59 My mom lives in Des Moines, and I'm happy to say hello to her today.

00:19:06 As a western water manager from an arid state, I am keenly aware of the need to be prepared

00:19:11 for future drought conditions.

00:19:13 On today's drought monitor map, unfortunately, New Mexico takes the prize in a bad way, but

00:19:20 many areas have seen improvement this year.

00:19:24 Two years ago, the drought monitor map painted a very different picture, with well over half

00:19:30 the nation experiencing some of the worst drought conditions in recent history, and

00:19:35 major reservoirs hit record low levels.

00:19:39 Communities imposed drought restrictions on water use, and emergency actions were taken

00:19:43 within the Colorado River Basin and California to protect infrastructure.

00:19:49 In New Mexico, over 40 miles of the Rio Grande went dry, which had not been the case in over

00:19:55 40 years.

00:19:57 Last October, on a return trip to Iowa City, I participated in a discussion regarding the

00:20:02 severity of the ongoing drought there in Iowa.

00:20:06 We know that drought conditions pose challenges for every sector of our economy.

00:20:11 Farmers make planting decisions based on the availability of surface water and groundwater.

00:20:17 Cities and towns have a responsibility to ensure their residents have water, regardless

00:20:22 of the hydrology we are seeing.

00:20:25 And we are aware of the cascading effects of drought through issues like wildfires,

00:20:30 where smoke crosses state lines, and subsequent rainstorms can produce debris flows that can

00:20:36 shut down highways or clog up water treatment facilities.

00:20:40 Fortunately, we are working on these issues, and in many cases, we've been able to develop

00:20:46 strategies to manage and adapt to the drought.

00:20:51 We are also working in parallel on strategies to be able to store and capture water during

00:20:56 wetter times, if those are the conditions that we see, and if we have the infrastructure

00:21:03 available to do that.

00:21:05 In New Mexico, like other western states, we have made significant investments in infrastructure

00:21:10 and water management programs, but we know we need to do more.

00:21:15 In January, our Governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, released a 50-year water action plan.

00:21:21 That plan identifies 11 drought response areas that we need to work on in order to enable

00:21:28 New Mexicans to respond to the drier conditions that may be on the horizon.

00:21:33 The 50-year water action plan is based on input received from technical experts and

00:21:39 water users around the state, and it emphasizes the need to do more in water conservation

00:21:46 among all sectors.

00:21:48 It also recognizes the need to protect water quality and restore important watersheds,

00:21:54 and to look to the future to develop new water supplies.

00:21:58 All of the efforts in the plan will require sustained levels of funding and additional

00:22:03 investments in infrastructure.

00:22:05 We are grateful for the recent announcements of federal funding for water projects within

00:22:10 New Mexico from the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure law.

00:22:16 The new federal funding will be paired with state and local appropriations and will help

00:22:21 our communities develop more efficient water delivery systems and create backup supplies

00:22:27 for use during droughts.

00:22:30 The existing funding is a good down payment for the additional funding that will be necessary

00:22:34 to fully implement the required actions.

00:22:39 Having strong partnerships is a key to all of these efforts.

00:22:42 In New Mexico, we know we have to work closely with our water users to manage the limited

00:22:48 supplies we have available.

00:22:51 We also know we have to work closely with our sister states and continue to work with

00:22:57 them on developing collaborative agreements for water sharing.

00:23:02 We work, of course, very closely with the federal agencies who own and operate many

00:23:07 of the large infrastructure projects, and it will be required to have as much flexibility

00:23:14 as possible in those management decision-making processes to make sure we can get through

00:23:20 the tough drought years that may be ahead.

00:23:23 There is no doubt that the available funding works best when it can be utilized in conjunction

00:23:28 with collaborative efforts among multiple water management agencies.

00:23:33 Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to participate in this hearing and describe

00:23:38 some of the ways that New Mexico and its partners are responding to drought.

00:23:42 The strategies in action under development will ensure that New Mexico's communities

00:23:47 can continue to prosper, even during drought or during whatever future conditions we may

00:23:53 see on the horizon.

00:23:55 Thank you.

00:23:56 Thank you very much, Mr. Hero.

00:23:57 It's wonderful to have you with us.

00:23:59 Let me turn now to Mr. Hashkalil.

00:24:03 Thank you, Chair Whitehouse, thank you, Member Grassley.

00:24:06 I appreciate the opportunity to testify before your committee, and also I want to extend

00:24:10 my condolences to the families in Iowa, Senator Grassley.

00:24:14 Also I want to thank Senator Padilla for the introduction and the partnership in uplifting

00:24:18 communities everywhere, not only in California but across this country.

00:24:22 Thank you.

00:24:23 Metropolitan is the largest wholesale drinking water provider in the United States.

00:24:28 We are committed to providing safe, reliable water for all, with no one left behind.

00:24:33 I repeat, with no one left behind.

00:24:35 That's a commitment that we all have, that everyone should have the right for water.

00:24:40 We represent 26 member agencies, including 14 cities, 12 water districts, serving water

00:24:47 to over 19 million people, and supplying water to support an economy of $1.6 trillion.

00:24:55 Water is life.

00:24:56 Water is economy.

00:24:58 Metropolitan is renowned for our complex and integrated water systems and our commitment

00:25:02 to water use efficiency.

00:25:04 This combination of water reliability and water use efficiency have long worked together

00:25:09 to sustain the well-being of our communities.

00:25:12 Our water use today is the same as it was 50 years ago, with double the population,

00:25:19 through over billions of dollars in investments in conservation.

00:25:23 Half the water we use is locally sourced.

00:25:26 This year, California and Metropolitan has conserved and added record amount of water

00:25:31 in storage in Lake Mead.

00:25:33 Metropolitan alone has added 1.7 million acre feet of water in storage in Lake Mead, equivalent

00:25:40 to 25 feet in elevation.

00:25:42 Overall, we have 3.4 million acre feet across in total storage in our system.

00:25:48 That's equivalent to three years of imported water for our users in Southern California.

00:25:55 Colorado River deliveries to the state in 2023 were the lowest since 1949.

00:26:00 However, the challenges we face today are enormous.

00:26:04 Water year '20 to '22 was the driest consecutive three-year period in California.

00:26:08 Notably, this extreme drought was immediately preceded by and followed by very wet years

00:26:14 in 2019 and '23.

00:26:16 Over the last five years, we have swung from record levels of water in storage to record-breaking

00:26:21 drought conditions and back again.

00:26:24 California has always had the most volatile year-to-year precipitation in the nation.

00:26:28 But this rapid swing, as we call the climate whiplash, is unprecedented.

00:26:32 We need new, adaptive, resilient water management practices and tools.

00:26:38 The recent drought challenged our ability to reliably provide water to our service area.

00:26:44 Metropolitan imports half of its water from Northern California via the State Water Project

00:26:48 and from the Colorado River.

00:26:50 During the last drought, our water deliveries were only enough for six areas in our region.

00:26:59 We had to provide them human health and safety needs.

00:27:02 Unfortunately, this low water allocation highlighted the vulnerability in our system in delivering

00:27:07 water.

00:27:08 Six of our 26 member agencies that we serve, nearly 7 million people, were severely impacted

00:27:14 by water shortage.

00:27:16 As a result, Metropolitan, our member agencies, in partnership with our ag partners, implemented

00:27:20 extraordinary conservation measures, building on our past actions and partnerships.

00:27:25 We launched an aggressive campaign that promoted water savings behaviors and invested $46 million

00:27:31 in conservation rebates, landscape, and irrigation efficiency measures.

00:27:35 We reoperated our distribution system to utilize as much stored water as possible and accelerated

00:27:40 work on projects totaling hundreds of millions of dollars to reengineer our existing water

00:27:44 delivery system and improve our flexibility.

00:27:47 We also accelerated investment in 200 million construction projects for groundwater storage

00:27:52 in Antelope Valley to allow us to store more water from the State Water Project south of

00:27:59 the Delta and north of our service area.

00:28:02 Additional storage and conveyance projects are also in the work.

00:28:05 I want to acknowledge the partnership with the Bureau of Reclamation and the Commissioner,

00:28:09 Commissioner Toutant, and thank you for the Federal investments that are helping us move

00:28:12 the needle on these investments.

00:28:15 Even as California's precipitation becomes more erratic, drought conditions are putting

00:28:19 pressure on the West overall and what we're looking at.

00:28:23 New infrastructure to recycle, capture, move, and store water is needed to ensure the communities

00:28:28 that we serve have reliable water supply.

00:28:30 These include projects like Pure Water Southern California, the largest recycled water project

00:28:35 in the country.

00:28:36 We are recycling 150 million gallons a day, serving 3.4 million people.

00:28:42 Metropolitan is developing climate adaptation master plan for water to provide roadmap to

00:28:46 guide us into the future.

00:28:49 Weather extremes also have financial implications.

00:28:51 Drought can cause to double down on conservation and efficiency investments and more resilient

00:28:56 and climate adaptive infrastructure.

00:28:59 Metropolitan is currently evaluating new infrastructure projects to improve our climate resiliency,

00:29:04 including the largest recycled project in the nation.

00:29:07 Our capital investments, we're looking at about $30 billion in 2023 dollars.

00:29:12 This is beyond what we can ask our rate payers, but it's necessary to ensure they have safe

00:29:16 and reliable drinking water for generations to come with no one left behind.

00:29:21 Sustained federal assistance in the form of grants, new bond financing mechanism, and

00:29:24 assistance to low income household are essential as we work to build more resilient water systems

00:29:31 and adapt to our changing climate.

00:29:33 But all requires us to partner and work together across our watersheds.

00:29:37 Thank you very much.

00:29:40 Thank you very much, sir.

00:29:41 And we turn now to Mr. Kevin Richards.

00:29:45 Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to share the challenges farmers face as we

00:29:49 struggle to adapt to a changing climate characterized by drought and water scarcity in the Western

00:29:54 States.

00:29:55 I farm about a thousand acres with my family in the Central Oregon High Desert.

00:30:00 We raise some livestock, hay and grain.

00:30:02 However, our farm in our region specializes in grass seed and vegetable seed production.

00:30:07 In fact, the county where I farm produces the majority of the global carrot seed supply.

00:30:13 Our region historically receives less than 10 inches of rain per year, so we rely on

00:30:17 irrigation water.

00:30:19 After in-stream water rights were exhausted in the 20th century, the Federal Bureau of

00:30:23 Reclamation built reservoirs to capture winter snow runoff and divert stored water nearly

00:30:28 100 miles to 60,000 acres in North Uintah Irrigation District where I farm.

00:30:34 Unfortunately, perennial drought has reduced allotments to as low as 20% of normal in recent

00:30:42 years and it would require multiple wet years to restore reservoir and water supply levels

00:30:47 to their historic averages.

00:30:50 How is drought impacting our farms and communities?

00:30:52 Frankly, some farms simply cannot adapt fast enough.

00:30:56 This spring, there have already been three auctions in our small community to liquidate

00:31:00 farm equipment of multi-generational family farms who have made the difficult decision

00:31:06 to quit.

00:31:07 Less water means fewer crops and fewer jobs for farm workers and agriculture businesses.

00:31:13 That is taking a toll on our local economy and employment.

00:31:17 Our rural town has three major equipment supply dealers.

00:31:21 One of those businesses decided to close their doors and relocate this winter.

00:31:26 Our local school district is one of the most authentically diverse in the nation with one

00:31:30 third of our students Native American from the Confederated Tribe of Warm Springs and

00:31:35 over one third of our students from Hispanic American families who immigrated as farm workers.

00:31:42 Irrigated agriculture is the economic engine that creates jobs and prosperity for these

00:31:46 families and everyone suffers when that engine starts to run out of fuel.

00:31:53 A less obvious cost of drought is the impact on the local environment.

00:31:57 When arable irrigated farmland is dried up, it creates micro ecological disasters in the

00:32:03 form of erosion, proliferation of noxious and invasive weeds, and soil degradation.

00:32:09 Sustaining soil health helps maintain the beauty of our landscapes and it is essential

00:32:13 to farm productivity, but it is nearly impossible without adequate irrigation water or sufficient

00:32:19 farm revenue to justify costly inputs.

00:32:23 How are farms adapting to drought and water scarcity?

00:32:26 Local farms are desperately searching for ways to tighten their belts and find efficiencies.

00:32:31 Unfortunately, short-term solutions often come with negative consequences.

00:32:36 It's painful telling your loyal employee they no longer have a job and sometimes cutting

00:32:40 expenses leads to cutting corners and neglecting investments in maintaining soil health or

00:32:46 deferring investments.

00:32:48 Nevertheless, farmers like me who want to see American agriculture and our rural communities

00:32:52 thrive are finding ways to adapt and invest in drought resiliency.

00:32:57 We're adjusting our crop rotation and looking for opportunities to grow new high-value annual

00:33:01 crops that allow for greater flexibility in our water use.

00:33:05 We're pouring our resources into on-farm conservation by monitoring soil moisture, piping ditches,

00:33:12 upgrading sprinklers to the latest technology, and converting to drip irrigation.

00:33:18 What collective solutions are available to enhance drought resiliency?

00:33:22 A robust farm safety net and risk management tools like those authorized through the Farm

00:33:26 Bill are enormously helpful toward ensuring family farms can survive the risk and volatility

00:33:32 in modern agriculture.

00:33:34 Please continue to support those programs as well as ways to adapt those programs to

00:33:41 be more viable to the specialty crops that we grow in western states.

00:33:45 However, some of the greatest opportunities to save water are not on the farm but within

00:33:49 our irrigation infrastructure.

00:33:51 I urge your support for programs and funding that help to modernize irrigated agriculture

00:33:56 in the west.

00:33:58 As Senator Merkley highlighted, the Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations Program, also

00:34:02 known as PL 566, has been especially beneficial and used in novel ways to fund canal piping

00:34:08 in central Oregon and to make sure water diverted from rivers makes it to farmers' fields.

00:34:14 Senator Merkley has been a champion of this effort in central Oregon, and I'm grateful

00:34:17 that he's leading a bipartisan effort to enhance the funding for PL 566 while taking a multi-benefit

00:34:24 approach that targets not just water savings but ecosystem improvements and cultural priorities.

00:34:30 Projects funded through PL 566 and other investments in modernizing our infrastructure have a tremendous

00:34:37 return on investment and deserve your support.

00:34:40 Finally, we're in search of larger, more permanent solutions that will protect our

00:34:44 rivers while preserving irrigated agriculture and the communities that depend on farming

00:34:48 in central Oregon.

00:34:50 I've included in my written testimony more specifics on projects that we're pursuing

00:34:56 that will help our irrigation district continue to thrive throughout the 21st century.

00:35:01 Thank you.

00:35:02 >>Chairman Wiley: Thank you very much, Mr. Richards.

00:35:06 We now turn to Dr. Castellano.

00:35:08 >>Chairman Whitehouse, Ranking Member Grassley, and Committee members, thank you for the opportunity

00:35:13 to speak here today.

00:35:14 As an alumnus of the University of Rhode Island and a professor at Iowa State University,

00:35:19 I feel very comfortable before this committee.

00:35:21 I can safely say that I've worked with the best fishermen and farmers in the world.

00:35:26 I'm an ecosystem scientist with particular expertise in the understanding and management

00:35:30 of carbon, nitrogen, and water dynamics in agronomic systems.

00:35:34 I work with a range of scientists, engineers, and most importantly, farmers to understand,

00:35:39 design, and implement systems that minimize tradeoffs between productivity and environmental

00:35:44 performance.

00:35:45 I'm currently the U.S. representative to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on

00:35:49 Soils where I'm the lead author on the North American assessment of the forthcoming 2025

00:35:55 Status of the World Soils Report.

00:35:57 Climate change is a serious risk.

00:35:59 Weather variability, particularly precipitation extremes, create significant challenges for

00:36:03 farmers.

00:36:05 We should take steps to mitigate and adapt to climate change when and where it makes

00:36:08 sense without slowing of the progress we've made towards improving the human condition,

00:36:13 much of which is attributable to agriculture.

00:36:16 In the last 50 years alone, we've doubled corn production per acre, the annual rate

00:36:20 of yield gain shows no signs of declining, and the increase in production has been accompanied

00:36:25 by significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

00:36:28 Nevertheless, emissions from crop production are significant and among the most difficult

00:36:32 to abate because unlike other sectors, they're not from fossil fuel combustion.

00:36:37 Instead, they're from nitrous oxide, a byproduct of processes that are critical for plant growth.

00:36:43 Improved management of nitrogen and water are required to minimize agricultural emissions.

00:36:49 Although agricultural emissions are hard to abate, there are strategies that increase

00:36:52 yield while reducing emissions.

00:36:55 Agronomic practices that explicitly aim to increase the amount and resilience of crop

00:37:00 yield in an environmentally responsible manner are often overlooked by conservation programs,

00:37:05 yet they can be extremely effective at adapting to climate change and reducing greenhouse

00:37:09 gas emissions.

00:37:10 Today, I'd like to highlight two of these practices, subsurface drainage and crop residue

00:37:15 management.

00:37:16 More than 50 million acres of cropland across all 50 states benefit from subsurface drainage.

00:37:23 This infrastructure includes connected networks of private and community-owned drainage pipes

00:37:28 that can be valued at more than $50 billion.

00:37:33 Subsurface drainage improves plant and soil health and allows farmers to make timely field

00:37:36 operations that enable successful execution of additional conservation practices such

00:37:42 as cover crops and reduced tillage and precision fertilizer management.

00:37:46 Together, these factors reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing yield while reducing

00:37:51 nitrogen fertilizer needs and nitrous oxide emissions.

00:37:55 Although drains can promote nutrient runoff, they also enable edger field treatment opportunities

00:37:59 such as wetlands, which are among the most effective nutrient loss production practices

00:38:04 and add diversity to the landscape.

00:38:07 Unfortunately, much of our drainage infrastructure was installed more than 100 years ago and

00:38:12 it is deteriorating.

00:38:13 In addition, capacity of our drainage infrastructure is no longer sufficient, owing in part to

00:38:17 an increase in heavy precipitation in Central and Eastern US.

00:38:23 The increase in heavy precipitation also reinforces another growing opportunity, the need for

00:38:28 crop residue management.

00:38:30 As I mentioned earlier, corn yield and the yield of many other crops is increasing every

00:38:34 year, a great testament to farmer innovation and the success of US investments in agricultural

00:38:40 research.

00:38:41 As yields increase, so do crop residues, the portions of the crop that are not typically

00:38:45 harvested.

00:38:46 Crop residue production in corn systems is increasing by about 100 pounds per acre every

00:38:51 year.

00:38:52 In the 1970s and 80s, crop residue retention was required to reduce erosion and build soil

00:38:57 organic matter.

00:38:58 However, the increase in residue production now creates significant challenges for farmers.

00:39:03 The extra residue keeps the soil cold and wet, slowing the growth of subsequent crops

00:39:07 and challenging the implementation of conservation practices such as reduced tillage and cover

00:39:12 crops.

00:39:13 The USDA Agricultural Research Service and land grant universities have demonstrated that

00:39:18 partial residue harvest in corn systems can increase yield, reduce nitrogen fertilizer

00:39:23 needs and reducing nitrous oxide emissions without risking loss of soil health.

00:39:28 Hence, partial crop residue harvest can make significant reduction in the carbon intensity

00:39:32 scores of US agriculture.

00:39:35 Moreover, the harvested residue can be transformed into renewable fuels that make significant

00:39:40 contributions towards decarbonizing other hard-to-abate sectors of our economy.

00:39:46 Better communication about the environmental benefits of drainage and crop residue management

00:39:49 would ensure that farmers understand and act on them.

00:39:53 Education, technical assistance and incentive programs could accelerate the implementation

00:39:57 and maximize the benefits of updating our drainage infrastructure and harvesting of

00:40:01 crop residues for the decarbonization of agriculture and other sectors.

00:40:06 It's clear that opportunities to reduce agricultural emissions can also contribute to productivity

00:40:11 of our cropping systems and decarbonization of agriculture and other sectors.

00:40:16 Going forward, we cannot and need not sacrifice productivity for climate change mitigation.

00:40:21 Thanks for your time.

00:40:22 Thanks very much, Dr. Costano.

00:40:25 Our final witness is Dr. Pelkey.

00:40:29 Chairman Whitehouse, Senator Grassley, thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

00:40:32 For almost 30 years, along with many colleagues, I've studied extreme weather and climate and

00:40:37 associated impacts.

00:40:38 Our work has been cited in the most recent assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel

00:40:41 on Climate Change, or IPCC.

00:40:44 The IPCC is comprised of hardworking and intelligent people who reflect a spirit of public service.

00:40:49 They're also humans, and the IPCC is, of course, fallible.

00:40:53 Conclusions of the IPCC reports are snapshots in time reflecting the evolution of scientific

00:40:57 understandings.

00:40:59 Individual experts may have legitimate views that are at odds with the IPCC, and that is,

00:41:03 of course, expected in a diverse scientific landscape.

00:41:07 I'm happy to report that the IPCC Working Group 1 assessments on the literature of extreme

00:41:11 events in my areas of expertise have, with few exceptions, done an overall excellent

00:41:16 job accurately reflecting the scientific literature.

00:41:19 Today I summarize what the most recent IPCC report concluded about the detection and attribution

00:41:25 of trends in drought at the global scale and also for the United States.

00:41:28 I start with some key IPCC terminology.

00:41:32 First, detection.

00:41:33 Quote, "The process of demonstrating that climate or a system affected by climate has

00:41:37 change in some defined statistical sense without providing a reason for that change.

00:41:43 An identified change is detected in observations if its likelihood of occurrence by chance

00:41:48 due to internal variability is determined to be small."

00:41:51 Attribution.

00:41:52 Quote, "The process of evaluating the relative contributions of multiple causal factors to

00:41:58 a change or event with an assessment of confidence."

00:42:02 Third, drought.

00:42:04 Quote, "Periods of time with substantially below average moisture conditions, usually

00:42:08 covering large areas during which limitations in water availability result in negative impacts

00:42:14 for various components of natural systems and economic sectors."

00:42:17 It is more challenging to achieve detection and attribution of trends in drought than,

00:42:22 say, hurricanes or tornadoes because drought can be defined and measured in many different

00:42:26 ways in the context of significant natural climate variability.

00:42:31 Detecting and attributing trends in drought impacts is even more challenging.

00:42:35 It is very easy to identify drought trends over various time periods in various places

00:42:40 that are the result of internal variability rather than an indication of a change in climate.

00:42:46 Often detection and attribution are confused, and so too is climate variability with climate

00:42:50 change.

00:42:52 The IPCC finds with high confidence, that's an 8 in 10 chance, that human-caused climate

00:42:58 change influences the global hydrological cycle and thus drought.

00:43:02 My written testimony makes four main points summarizing IPCC findings.

00:43:08 Number one, the IPCC focuses on three types of drought, meteorological, hydrological,

00:43:13 and what it calls agricultural or ecological drought.

00:43:18 First image.

00:43:19 At the global scale, the IPCC has not detected or attributed trends in any of the three types

00:43:25 of drought for any region with high confidence.

00:43:29 That's an 8 in 10 chance.

00:43:30 For the United States, which is summarized in the figure here, which is in my written

00:43:34 testimony, the IPCC has only low confidence, that is a 2 in 10 chance, in detected or attributed

00:43:41 trends in all three types of drought for all regions with the exception of Western North

00:43:46 America where it has medium confidence, that's 5 in 10 chance, in the detection and attributions

00:43:52 of trends in agricultural and ecological drought.

00:43:57 Looking forward to 2100, which is summarized in this figure, also in my written testimony,

00:44:03 at the global scale, the IPCC does not expect that a signal of trends in drought will emerge

00:44:08 in any region with high confidence.

00:44:10 Again, that's an 8 in 10 chance.

00:44:12 For the United States, the IPCC has only low confidence, again, that's a 2 in 10 chance,

00:44:18 that a signal of trends in drought will emerge from the background of natural variability

00:44:22 in all three types of drought for all regions except Western and Central North America for

00:44:28 agricultural and ecological drought, and also hydrological drought in Western North America.

00:44:33 Both of those are at medium confidence, 5 in 10 chance.

00:44:37 So I know that's a lot of words, but my written testimony includes several summary tables

00:44:41 and figures from the IPCC reports that concisely summarize these IPCC findings and associated

00:44:48 confidence levels.

00:44:50 This is an image that comes from Chapter 11 of the IPCC.

00:44:54 It's I think one of the last pages of the report.

00:44:57 I encourage you to take a close look at it.

00:45:00 In plain English, the IPCC concludes that changes to the climate system resulting from

00:45:06 human activity, notably the emission of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels,

00:45:10 changes the hydrological cycle and thus affects drought.

00:45:13 At the same time, the IPCC does not have high confidence that research has detected the

00:45:17 signal of a change in past drought at the global scale or in the United States, nor

00:45:22 does the IPCC expect with high confidence such a signal to emerge beyond internal variability,

00:45:28 even under its most extreme scenario, to 2100.

00:45:32 Such uncertainties and areas of ignorance can inform both mitigation and adaptation

00:45:36 policies and planning.

00:45:37 Fourth, and my final point, to be absolutely clear, I emphasize explicitly and unequivocally

00:45:43 that human-caused climate change poses significant risk to society and the environment and that

00:45:47 various policy responses in the form of mitigation and adaptation are necessary and make good

00:45:52 sense.

00:45:53 Thank you, and I welcome your questions.

00:45:56 Thank you very much.

00:46:01 Hearing you, Mr. Richards, reminds me a lot of conversations that I have with our fishermen

00:46:13 in Rhode Island.

00:46:15 I remember going out on a trawler one day just to see things firsthand and spend some

00:46:21 time with the fishing captain who operates the trawler.

00:46:28 He turned to me and he said, "Sheldon, you've got to understand that this is not my grandfather's

00:46:34 ocean."

00:46:35 He'd grown up beginning to fish with his grandfather.

00:46:40 Seems to me like this is not your grandfather's land out in Oregon either.

00:46:47 I think that's right, Senator.

00:46:51 As farmers, I think we do relate to fishermen and we consider ourselves stewards of resources.

00:46:58 One of those resources that we're stewards of is not just the water and the soil and

00:47:04 the wildlife, but also the cultural heritage that is the foundation of American agriculture

00:47:12 and our resource industries like timber and our fisheries.

00:47:17 We're working hard not just to save water and preserve the agriculture industry, but

00:47:22 also to preserve the heritage of American farming.

00:47:28 We hear very regularly from Senator Merkley about the foresters, farmers, and fishermen

00:47:34 of Oregon.

00:47:35 Ms. Trujillo, you mentioned Governor Lou Hengrisham's 50-year water action plan.

00:47:42 Could you give us a little description of that plan and its foundation in science?

00:47:49 Yes.

00:47:50 Thank you.

00:47:52 Thank you, Senator.

00:47:53 It is a report that the governor asked us to work on to really demonstrate the situation

00:48:01 in New Mexico and the challenges that we may see if we do see a continued dry future.

00:48:09 What we used to inform the plan was a variety of information that came in from technical

00:48:15 experts, including a report from 2022 that analyzed the impacts of climate change on

00:48:23 our water resources.

00:48:24 It was developed from a panel of primarily New Mexico scientists and researchers who

00:48:31 had worked in the area for many decades.

00:48:34 They looked at a variety of situations from soil moisture impacts to groundwater recharge

00:48:41 impacts, of course, surface water implications, trying to predict what we might see in the

00:48:47 future.

00:48:49 All tied together with an understanding that there is uncertainty and we don't know exactly

00:48:54 what the future conditions are going to be.

00:48:56 If we see a drier future and if we see the prediction that we may see up to 25 percent

00:49:03 less water coming into our systems, we have to develop actions to respond to that.

00:49:09 That's what this plan does.

00:49:10 We have actions for water conservation in particular that are going to help us meet

00:49:15 that supply and demand equation.

00:49:19 Thank you.

00:49:20 Thank you.

00:49:21 Mr. Hachikawa, you mentioned that business models for water utilities are having to change

00:49:26 in the face of climate change.

00:49:28 Could you describe specifically how that's impacting the utility that you run and the

00:49:34 concerns are you see as you look forward?

00:49:36 Sure.

00:49:37 I think to me the previous way of charging for water was about the consumption of water

00:49:45 use.

00:49:46 Most it was what we call telescopic water charging.

00:49:50 The more water you use, the more you pay.

00:49:53 What we're seeing right now is that we're actually incentivizing people.

00:49:56 We're paying people to use less water.

00:50:00 We're investing a lot of money to, whether it's through changing the landscape or conservation

00:50:05 and farming, whether changing how you do that.

00:50:08 That's why our water use is 50 percent, half of the water we used 50 years ago.

00:50:15 But for us to continue investing in this water resiliency and what we need to do is build

00:50:20 more storage, more conveyance so we can capture wet water when we have it.

00:50:24 And during dry conditions, we don't have to lie and fight over the water we don't have.

00:50:28 And to do that, we have to find new ways to charge for water without having to rely on

00:50:36 the less amount of water we're selling.

00:50:39 So our business model has to change.

00:50:41 We need to find ways to generate revenue that is not based on the volumetric use of water.

00:50:48 It has to be kind of a fixed rate that's built on the overall base and sharing in the cost

00:50:55 and also ensuring affordability for our communities.

00:50:58 So we need to find ways where we reward people for conservation, address the affordability

00:51:03 question and I appreciate Senator Perrera's leadership on the low income assistance program.

00:51:08 But I think what we need to do is how we can raise the money locally because we appreciate

00:51:13 the federal government's funding, but most of the money is going to come from the local

00:51:16 investments and local rates.

00:51:18 And how can we do it in a way that does not force us to force people to use more water?

00:51:25 So we are changing it now.

00:51:27 And last month, our board of directors approved for the first time an increase in property

00:51:32 tax to capture what we call the resiliency investments to help us invest across the board

00:51:38 in projects that can move us forward and reduce our dependence on the sale of water because

00:51:46 that's a new model that we have to do.

00:51:48 And we are working through it and we look forward to developing a new business model

00:51:52 for metropolitan and our region, but also takes partnerships.

00:51:55 And I appreciate the partnership with our partners on the Colorado River.

00:52:00 You know, Arizona and Nevada, for example, are partners with metropolitan and Southern

00:52:05 California in building the largest recycled water project because if we invest together,

00:52:11 we are helping each other reduce our dependence on imported water.

00:52:15 So expanding the pie, making the tent bigger, and working together across the watershed

00:52:19 and across the southwest and across California is going to help all of us continue to move

00:52:24 forward and be resilient.

00:52:26 Thank you very much.

00:52:29 My time is up.

00:52:30 Senator Grassley.

00:52:31 Dr. Castellano, how can farmers in Iowa and maybe states similar to Iowa improve their

00:52:39 soil quality and limit emissions without demanding further input from the federal government?

00:52:45 Yeah, thank you for the question, Senator Grassley.

00:52:49 I think the way that farmers go forward and limit their emissions and adapt and mitigate

00:52:54 to climate change, improve soil without further dependence on the federal government is taking

00:53:00 a systems approach to things like cover crops and no-till.

00:53:03 And when I say a systems approach, these practices, these conservation practices, which are named

00:53:09 in the 40B, for example, they can't be prescribed indiscriminately because they just don't work

00:53:15 everywhere.

00:53:16 It's as simple as that.

00:53:17 The science shows that on average, in fact, they may even reduce crop yields.

00:53:22 Yet when they're placed and targeted in proper systems, they can be very effective and do

00:53:26 many great things for the environment.

00:53:28 As I mentioned, subsurface drainage and crop residue management are two practices that

00:53:34 help put that systems approach forward to allow other practices to go into the system

00:53:40 better.

00:53:41 That's where I see things going.

00:53:42 Okay.

00:53:43 And also for you, are you more concerned with weather variability or drought in Iowa?

00:53:49 How can Iowans do best to -- what they can do best to prepare so that there's more rainfall

00:53:59 absorbance as opposed to runoff?

00:54:03 Sure.

00:54:04 Thanks again for the question.

00:54:06 As we heard from Dr. Pialke, the clear challenge here is variability and precipitation.

00:54:13 And that's not just based on the science, but it's what we hear from the farmers as

00:54:17 well.

00:54:18 There's big precipitation events, as we saw yesterday in Iowa, that are a major concern.

00:54:24 We heard in the testimony here today about the ongoing drought in Iowa.

00:54:29 That was punctuated by May of this year, which through yesterday is the second greatest precipitation

00:54:36 May on record.

00:54:39 Farmers are doing things, too, I want to add, to adapt to droughts.

00:54:45 They did achieve very high yields in three of the four years during the sustained drought

00:54:51 that we had in Iowa, including a record yield.

00:54:55 And one of those four years, we saw a very low yield, and that was due to an extreme

00:55:00 precipitation event, a derecho storm that you remember very well, Senator.

00:55:06 Dr. Pialke, given your scientific expertise, I'd like to give you an opportunity, if you

00:55:14 want to take advantage of it, to address any factually inaccurate science-based statements

00:55:20 that were made today.

00:55:24 And then I have a follow-up.

00:55:25 Yeah, thanks.

00:55:26 We're in a period where there's a lot of what I would call anecdotal attribution.

00:55:33 Something happened somewhere in the world.

00:55:34 There was a tragic event in the skies over Southeast Asia yesterday, a turbulence event.

00:55:39 And the news is covered with, oh, this is caused by climate change.

00:55:43 And the quick attribution of everything that happens to climate change flattens our understandings.

00:55:48 And these are very complex phenomena and processes.

00:55:51 I learned three things in reading my colleague's testimony that are fascinating and I think

00:55:56 tell a much more important part of the study.

00:55:59 One is that the Southern California Water District uses half the water that it used

00:56:03 to.

00:56:04 That is an incredible story of human ingenuity and innovation.

00:56:06 I have to follow up on that.

00:56:07 The other is that most of the world's carrot seeds come from the high desert, which is

00:56:11 another incredible testament.

00:56:13 And then the third thing I learned is that crop productivity, despite all of the variability

00:56:16 and change in climate over the past generation, since my grandparents were young people, has

00:56:23 continued to increase and is expected to continue to increase.

00:56:27 And also I'd like to have you as my final question, Dr. Pilkey, to ask you why you've

00:56:35 argued that, let's say, political liberals rather than people in just one political party

00:56:42 are distancing themselves from the views of the International Panel on Climate Change.

00:56:47 Yeah, I mean, I'll just give you an anecdote.

00:56:50 I was first invited to testify before the Senate 22 years ago.

00:56:53 I think it was Environment and Public Works.

00:56:56 And I was invited by Senate Democrats.

00:56:58 And what they said to me was, would you come before the Senate and summarize what the recent,

00:57:02 at that time, third assessment report of the IPCC said.

00:57:05 And so I did that.

00:57:07 And then last week I was invited by Senate Republicans to come with the exact same request.

00:57:11 Could you come summarize what the IPCC says?

00:57:14 My explanation of this is at some point climate proponents, climate activists decided to make

00:57:21 extreme weather events the face of climate change.

00:57:24 And in doing so, they went well beyond what the science can support.

00:57:28 And so the IPCC is no longer particularly useful making those arguments.

00:57:32 Because as I said today, it pours some cold water on the anecdotal attribution claims.

00:57:38 Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:57:39 Thank you.

00:57:40 Thank you very much, Senator Grassley.

00:57:41 All the panelists.

00:57:42 Senator Lujan.

00:57:43 Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:57:44 Mr. Hill, thank you again for being here today, especially to share New Mexico's perspective

00:57:52 with the committee.

00:57:53 All New Mexicans understand drought.

00:57:55 But the drought we are experiencing right now is different.

00:57:58 It's longer, it's hotter, and it's less predictable.

00:58:02 Just look at the Rio Grande River, which is not getting the attention that it deserves,

00:58:07 especially with our brothers and sisters, including in New Mexico, who depend on the

00:58:10 Colorado.

00:58:12 In the legislation that this Congress passed, it also included the Rio Grande River.

00:58:16 So that's my way of trying to get the Bureau of Reclamation's attention.

00:58:21 Now for generations, New Mexicans and the Rio Grande have worked in rhythm.

00:58:27 Snowpack melting in the spring would help communities weather tough dry periods in the

00:58:33 summer.

00:58:34 That has allowed the Rio Grande to sustain the region, providing a constant pulse of

00:58:38 water that supports over 6 million people in agriculture and manufacturing industries

00:58:43 across two countries.

00:58:45 That's all changed.

00:58:46 With increasing temperatures, snowpack is melting earlier and faster, forcing communities

00:58:51 to use groundwater and deplete aquifers at critical levels.

00:58:56 Mr. Rio, to protect water resources for generations to come, how does New Mexico plan to deal

00:59:01 with rising temperatures, stronger drought, and less predictable precipitation?

00:59:08 Thank you, Senator, for your leadership and for your work on behalf of New Mexico.

00:59:14 In New Mexico, we are always thinking about how to deal with the next drought situation

00:59:20 and the ability to manage, as you said, in a complex system of surface water supplies

00:59:25 and groundwater supplies that are interconnected.

00:59:29 That ability for us to manage is going to be what we need to get us through the dry

00:59:34 years.

00:59:35 We are going to be also investing, as I said earlier, in the actions in the governor's

00:59:41 50-year water action plan.

00:59:43 That means we are going to have to do more conservation in municipalities, in agricultural

00:59:48 communities, and on a system-wide basis.

00:59:52 We are also going to have to look for new water supplies in the future if we continue

00:59:58 to see the dry years on the horizon.

01:00:00 And then, overarching everything, we have to make sure the water quality is protected.

01:00:06 So all of those actions are on our mind every day as we are working to try to make sure

01:00:11 we have water for our communities.

01:00:13 I appreciate that.

01:00:14 Now, long-term drought is also fueling more intense, frequent, and unpredictable wildfires

01:00:20 with costs that are felt for many years after the fire is extinguished.

01:00:25 During recent common extreme drought conditions, small burns can rapidly evolve into mega-fires,

01:00:31 multiplying the cost of damages in the process.

01:00:34 Now that was the case in 2022 when the Forest Service lost control of a prescribed burn

01:00:39 that grew into Hermann's Peak-Calf Canyon fire, the largest in New Mexico's history.

01:00:44 Among the impacts, billions of dollars in financial damages, hundreds of homes lost,

01:00:48 the fire left behind burn scars, and the watershed that served 17,000 people in and around Las

01:00:54 Vegas.

01:00:55 When monsoon struck months later, the runoff flushed sediments and other wildfire debris

01:01:00 into the city's reservoirs.

01:01:02 The runoff was too contaminated for Las Vegas' only water treatment plant, with no backup

01:01:07 groundwater while running.

01:01:09 It did not take long before supplies plummeted.

01:01:12 Mr. Hill, how did the water crisis get so dire so fast in Las Vegas, New Mexico?

01:01:18 Thank you, Senator.

01:01:20 I was born in Las Vegas.

01:01:22 My family's ranch land is in the burn area, and I appreciate your support and help and

01:01:28 that of all of our delegation in providing resources and assistance to our community.

01:01:34 The city of Las Vegas is similar to many other western cities or rural cities throughout

01:01:40 the country, where they are reliant on a single supply of water.

01:01:46 In this circumstance, unfortunately, that supply of water is fed by the watershed that

01:01:51 was in the burn area, and their system was not able to handle the runoff and the debris

01:01:58 that was coming through that area.

01:02:01 The resources that we've been able to assist them with include trying to develop cooperative

01:02:05 agreements, trying to improve the infrastructure there in the city to make sure they can provide

01:02:12 water to their citizens.

01:02:14 It's something that many communities around the country should be thinking about if they

01:02:18 are in a similar circumstance to Las Vegas.

01:02:21 Thank you again for your support.

01:02:23 Thank you, Mr. Hill.

01:02:24 Mr. Chairman, I have several other questions.

01:02:25 I'll submit them into the record as well.

01:02:28 Thank you again for this important hearing.

01:02:30 Very well.

01:02:32 Thank you very much.

01:02:33 Senator Van Hollen.

01:02:34 Thank you.

01:02:36 Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

01:02:37 It's good to be here with you and my colleague from New Mexico.

01:02:42 I know a lot of you represent western parts of the country, but as you know, drought and

01:02:50 water scarcity issues are not limited to the west.

01:02:53 In my state of Maryland, climate change is causing more intense summer droughts and salt

01:02:59 water intrusion, which contributes to a growing water scarcity problem in our state.

01:03:06 What you're seeing is a lot of our communities are responding to try to remain more resilient.

01:03:12 The city of Westminster, which is in Carroll County, Maryland, has initiated a project

01:03:16 called Pure Water Westminster to study the safety and effectiveness of advanced treatment

01:03:21 of reclaimed water for indirect potable reuse to augment surface water storage.

01:03:29 In Anne Arundel County, a major county in Maryland, they're exploring the feasibility

01:03:33 of large-scale groundwater replenishment efforts to protect against groundwater depletion.

01:03:39 These are water recycling projects that also have secondary benefits because when you prevent

01:03:45 that water from running off into the Chesapeake Bay, it obviously means that the Bay doesn't

01:03:51 face as many stresses.

01:03:54 They're looking at more and more innovative water recycling projects in Maryland as in

01:03:59 other parts of the country.

01:04:00 I worked hard with my colleagues to secure the inclusion of the Alternative Water Source

01:04:06 Grants Pilot Program as part of the infrastructure bill.

01:04:10 It's authorized, but we have not yet funded it, provided appropriations.

01:04:16 Mr. Hodgkiel, could you just talk about the importance of these water recycling programs

01:04:23 and how they're becoming more important because of the impact of climate change?

01:04:29 Thank you, Senator, for the question.

01:04:31 I want to say is our success as a nation has to be through collaboration across the entire

01:04:38 nation.

01:04:39 That's why it's important as water agencies and every utility is working together in collaboration

01:04:44 under the associations, exchanging knowledge, experience, and what we need to do because

01:04:48 we can't reinvent the wheel.

01:04:50 This month I'm actually going down to the University of Colorado Boulder to talk about

01:04:55 the future and how we do it.

01:04:57 But as Governor Newsom, for example, developed his Water Supply Action Plan, and we know

01:05:02 that 10 percent of the water supply in California is going to disappear.

01:05:06 And what we need to do is manage risk because water is so essential to our farmers, water

01:05:11 is so essential to our businesses and economy.

01:05:14 And what we need to do is develop a risk-based approach.

01:05:16 So we can't put all our eggs in one basket.

01:05:19 We need to diversify our portfolio, what I call the one water approach.

01:05:23 And as you are looking at pure water in your community, we are looking at pure water in

01:05:27 Southern California.

01:05:29 We need to diversify our water supply and we need to find other sources of water that

01:05:34 can augment it.

01:05:35 So we're looking at recycling, building the largest recycled water project in Southern

01:05:39 California, 150 million gallons a day, actually the largest recycled water project in the

01:05:43 country.

01:05:44 It's going to take water, treat the water that was going to go into the ocean and be

01:05:48 wasted, recycling it and putting it in the ground.

01:05:51 And now we have direct portable, that means we can put it upstream over treatment plants.

01:05:55 So during drought conditions, we're not fighting over that water, we're actually putting water

01:05:59 away and that can provide us a supply we need, not only for Southern California, but the

01:06:05 entire state and the entire Colorado River watershed.

01:06:08 By us working together in partnership and investing, and I appreciate the funding from

01:06:13 the infrastructure bill that we have received and the Bureau of Reclamation's efforts on

01:06:18 this, I think we need to diversify.

01:06:20 So recycling is critical, capturing wet water and storing it is critical, building the infrastructure

01:06:27 to move water around and how we store water, whether it's underground or above ground.

01:06:32 All of these have to come together.

01:06:34 What I call it, it's a holistic one water approach that we do it.

01:06:37 And recycling is, with the technology we have, safe, doable and reliable source of water

01:06:43 that when we have dry conditions, we can use that water to help continue the economy and

01:06:49 continue the thriving of our communities across the board.

01:06:53 I appreciate that.

01:06:55 Thank you.

01:06:56 You know, many people when they think of farming also think of the Midwest.

01:07:01 We have a very vibrant farming community in the state of Maryland and saltwater intrusion

01:07:06 is reducing the usable groundwater for our farmers who often lack a backup water supply

01:07:14 that they can turn to.

01:07:16 We know that this will get worse as we see, you know, continuously the impact of climate

01:07:23 change.

01:07:24 One of the programs that our farmers are using to try to remain resilient in their operations

01:07:30 is the Natural Resource Conservation Service, NRCS, to help farmers adapt.

01:07:38 So Mr. Richards, I was just wanting to get your thoughts on the importance of that as

01:07:43 one of the tools to address these water issues.

01:07:46 Absolutely, Senator.

01:07:48 Thank you for the question.

01:07:50 The programs that are available, accessible for farmers through NRCS are tremendously

01:07:56 helpful in incentivizing cover cropping and water and soil conservation efforts on farms,

01:08:04 some of which were highlighted in other testimony today.

01:08:07 They are very useful and beneficial.

01:08:10 One challenge is they're not always available on an emergency basis when drought is threatening

01:08:18 the soil health and kind of micro ecological disasters on neglected farmland.

01:08:25 And so I believe there's an opportunity to enhance some of those programs and potentially

01:08:32 make them available on a more emergency basis.

01:08:35 And actually our county piloted a program in 2022 to cost share, incentivize cover cropping

01:08:43 and weed management on ground that was dried up due to drought to help avert some of the

01:08:49 environmental disasters that were at risk.

01:08:52 And so we're exploring ways to access grant funding through NRCS to build that program

01:08:58 and make it more robust on a continuous basis.

01:09:01 Thanks for mentioning that.

01:09:02 I look forward to working with my colleagues here as part of the Farm Bill Reauthorization

01:09:06 to see if we can fine tune some of those programs to address these issues.

01:09:10 Thank you.

01:09:11 Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

01:09:13 I'm told we have two senators on the way here.

01:09:19 So one of the things that you learn quickly around the Senate is that you can never believe

01:09:23 senators about where they are relative to where they're supposed to be.

01:09:28 There's a legendary story of the cloakroom calling Ted Kennedy and saying, we need you

01:09:34 on this vote.

01:09:35 Are you on your way?

01:09:36 Yes.

01:09:37 He said, I'm at the airport.

01:09:40 Leaving out that he was at the Boston airport.

01:09:44 So I will take just a moment, if you don't mind, Mr. Castellano, to ask you to elaborate

01:09:52 a little bit on your statement.

01:09:53 The potential to sustainably harvest a portion of crop residues is growing every year, representing

01:09:59 a new source of feed, fiber, and fuel that can help to decarbonize other sectors of our

01:10:05 economy.

01:10:06 Could you elaborate on that sentence while we wait and see?

01:10:09 Oh, and here we go.

01:10:10 Look at that.

01:10:11 May I still elaborate, Senator Weihach?

01:10:13 You may elaborate.

01:10:14 Thank you.

01:10:15 Senator Romney's going to take a minute to get himself sorted out.

01:10:17 So as I mentioned, crop residues, the production of them is growing every year as we increase

01:10:22 yields for corn.

01:10:23 It's about 100 pounds per acre per year.

01:10:25 That's a significant amount of residue.

01:10:29 Those residues can be harvested, and they can be turned into biofuels, renewable natural

01:10:35 gas, for example.

01:10:37 Ethanol.

01:10:38 They can, yeah, they could be, but that would be more the grain.

01:10:43 In our area in central Iowa, we have one plant, for example, of verbio that is transforming

01:10:50 the crop residues into renewable natural gas, and it's putting it directly into the pipeline.

01:10:55 Not only, the big point here is that not only is that good, but removing part of the residue

01:11:01 also reduces greenhouse gas emissions directly from the field to the atmosphere, which I

01:11:06 pointed out is one of the hardest to abate sources of emissions in our economy writ large.

01:11:13 And so there are multiple benefits for the farmer and other industries.

01:11:17 Great.

01:11:18 Well, I will turn now to Senator Romney, because I already recognized him while the question

01:11:25 finished.

01:11:26 Senator Marshall will be next, and then Senator Padilla, should he return.

01:11:29 Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

01:11:31 As you all probably know, my state is one of those that has been experiencing a great

01:11:35 deal of drought.

01:11:36 I'm from the state of Utah.

01:11:39 Estimates are that this is the longest period of drought in the last hundreds of years,

01:11:44 going back to 1500.

01:11:47 And the last couple of winters, we've had some relief.

01:11:51 This last winter, snowpack was about 114 percent of normal, but that doesn't begin to overwhelm

01:12:00 the challenges that we've had over a longer period of time.

01:12:04 The state has taken a lot of action to try and address that.

01:12:08 The legislature has changed water rights legislation.

01:12:11 They put in place a trust fund to buy water rights.

01:12:15 Some localities like South Jordan are reusing water in ways that are novel and creative.

01:12:23 But it continues to be a real challenge.

01:12:26 I guess I had thought as a non-climate scientist that with all the warming, there'd be more

01:12:31 rain and the things would get wetter.

01:12:35 We keep on hearing about more storms and more violent storms and so forth, so wouldn't there

01:12:39 be more water?

01:12:40 Maybe there's more water in some places, like Iowa or Nebraska or other places, but certainly

01:12:46 in the American West, the Intermountain West, we're seeing a lot less water.

01:12:51 And I guess the question is, how is and can agriculture adapt to that kind of change?

01:12:59 And I mean, are you seeing it in other parts of the country?

01:13:01 I'll turn to you, Mr. Richards, first.

01:13:05 What can agriculture do in a setting where you don't know whether it's going to get wetter

01:13:09 and wetter and wetter or drier and drier and drier?

01:13:12 How do you accommodate that kind of disparity?

01:13:14 Senator, thank you for the question.

01:13:19 You know, the history of American agriculture is one of doing more with less.

01:13:25 And so we're very good at adapting and finding ways to be more productive, more efficient

01:13:31 with the resources that we have.

01:13:33 And I think you're exactly right.

01:13:35 It's not just scarcity, it's the variability and the unpredictability of water shortages.

01:13:41 And so the questions I have is, can farmers, family farmers who are just family businesses

01:13:46 like my own, can we adapt fast enough?

01:13:48 Can we change our business model, change our crop rotation, adjust how we're stewarding

01:13:54 the soil and preparing it for the variability in the future?

01:13:59 Can we do that fast enough?

01:14:00 And so as your colleague asked earlier, I think that there are programs within USDA,

01:14:08 within NRCS that can enhance and incentivize some of that adaptation.

01:14:13 On the ground, ultimately, though, we need investment in infrastructure and not just

01:14:19 to save water, but to manage it more collaboratively on basin-wide approaches, which some of my

01:14:24 colleagues here at the table also mentioned.

01:14:27 And so in Central Oregon, we're finding ways for irrigation districts and other water users

01:14:35 who normally would operate in isolation to work together and manage things more collaboratively

01:14:40 and invest in major projects that completely transform the way that we're using water.

01:14:46 Thank you.

01:14:47 Mr. Castellano, in Iowa, what are you experiencing there in terms of climate?

01:14:54 And to what degree are farmers and ranchers able to adjust?

01:14:59 Thank you for the question, Senator Romney.

01:15:01 Just like yesterday in our state, it's precipitation extremes.

01:15:04 That is the biggest challenge for us.

01:15:06 And of course, variability from drought to precipitation excess as well.

01:15:10 We have a drainage infrastructure in our state, just like everybody, every state in the United

01:15:14 States does.

01:15:16 We are using that drainage infrastructure to do things like drainage water recycling

01:15:20 that we heard about earlier.

01:15:22 We take the water that comes off the drains.

01:15:24 Not only does that reduce nutrient loss downstream, which is a big concern for our Gulf of Mexico,

01:15:28 as you're aware, so it mitigates that.

01:15:31 It also can be fed back onto the system to benefit the crop productivity later in the

01:15:37 year.

01:15:38 Thank you.

01:15:39 I just note, Mr. Chairman, I think this is an important topic and am happy to learn about

01:15:44 it and ask questions and learn from these members of the panel.

01:15:48 I would note that I think perhaps ENR would be the committee that would be focused on

01:15:54 this more than budget.

01:15:56 I'd hope that we in budget can deal with the $1.5 trillion deficit we have and trying to

01:16:00 find some solutions to that, because if we don't deal with that, we won't have the resources

01:16:05 to be able to deal with emerging crises as they develop as a result of climate change

01:16:11 and economic disruption of various kinds.

01:16:14 Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

01:16:16 Thank you for accepting my invitation and coming in to discuss the prospects for reforms

01:16:23 in health care that can significantly reduce those out-year expenditures.

01:16:27 I was grateful you took the time to come and join me during my office hours.

01:16:32 Senator Marshall.

01:16:33 Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks again to our panel for being here.

01:16:36 Some of my questions may be redundant, so forgive me.

01:16:39 As you would imagine, we're running back and forth to other committee hearings this morning

01:16:42 as well.

01:16:43 I'll start with Mr. Richards.

01:16:45 Look, I'm a fifth-generation farm kid.

01:16:49 I don't remember a time in my life when there wasn't some place in Kansas that was suffering

01:16:53 from drought.

01:16:55 My grandparents would say the same thing, lived through the dirty '30s and this and that.

01:17:00 I think you all would agree with me that farmers and ranchers were the original conservationists.

01:17:06 Given the tools and the flexibility, they're going to do what's right for the land and

01:17:12 try to grow the most with the least possible.

01:17:14 We're seeing great strides in precision agriculture.

01:17:17 So many things are working good.

01:17:20 Mr. Richards, I assume that you use some of these conservation programs right now.

01:17:25 How would you describe the flexibility portion of that?

01:17:27 Are you able -- do you feel like there's too many rules and regulations, any concerns going

01:17:31 forward?

01:17:32 Senator, thank you for the question.

01:17:37 There's always opportunities to improve those programs.

01:17:40 I do resemble your remarks in the sense that we're optimistic and we're always facing adversity

01:17:46 and seeking ways to get better.

01:17:49 The programs that exist are tremendously helpful through FSA, the safety net that exists.

01:17:55 I would say, unfortunately, those programs tend to be catered more towards commodity

01:18:03 crops.

01:18:04 In the West, we focus more on specialty crops.

01:18:06 And so often those programs don't work as well or are difficult to navigate for those

01:18:11 of us in the Western state who grow smaller specialty crops.

01:18:15 In terms of NRCS, similarly, those programs are very helpful in incentivizing conservation

01:18:23 efforts, water and soil conservation.

01:18:26 But often they don't work well on a short-term emergency basis.

01:18:30 They're meant to or designed to incentivize paradigm shifts for farmers.

01:18:38 But often, especially with drought, we need to adapt right away.

01:18:43 And so -- Thank you.

01:18:44 Yeah.

01:18:45 And Dr. Castellano, again, these -- many of these practices that are now being forced

01:18:52 upon us have been things we've been doing for decades.

01:18:55 1991, I remember starting doing no-till farming on our farm.

01:18:59 Cover crops, like, oh, that's something new.

01:19:02 But there are certain places in Kansas where that doesn't work.

01:19:05 In the western third of the state, there's simply not enough moisture to do cover crops.

01:19:11 Whenever we can, we do no-till farming for a lot of reasons.

01:19:14 A, it's economical, and B, it's also the great conservation.

01:19:18 And here's my concern about the sustainable aviation fuel, that they're requiring all

01:19:24 these climate practices be done.

01:19:26 You know, it's like you can pick and choose, but again, there's just no way to do cover

01:19:30 crops in the western third, western half of the state.

01:19:33 So do you have any concern that losing -- that that's the right thing to do, that we'll be

01:19:38 losing some of the opportunities here by adapting, by requiring to adapt all these particulars?

01:19:45 Yes, Senator Marshall, I share your concern.

01:19:49 I think it's a significant concern when we prescribe conservation practices without considering

01:19:54 the system in which they're being placed.

01:19:56 You made the anecdote about Kansas.

01:19:59 I'll provide one about Iowa.

01:20:01 No-tillage often doesn't work in north central Iowa, because it's too cold, it's too wet.

01:20:06 We need to think about the full system.

01:20:08 In those systems, which are flat, erosion's not a problem.

01:20:12 We think about other ways to warm up and dry out the soil and to get the crop planted.

01:20:17 I'd like to say, as you move towards rulemaking towards the 45Z, that we have to be thinking

01:20:23 about field scale analysis and accounting of greenhouse gas emissions and conservation

01:20:29 practices, how they are effective in specific scenarios.

01:20:34 That's the way we need to go.

01:20:35 I'm just as concerned about NRC and FSA, whether it's the EQIP program, whatever program it

01:20:41 is, if we're over-prescriptive, we're going to lose some of our farmers and ranchers,

01:20:46 because they can't do all of those things.

01:20:48 Believe me, they would do them all if it's going to work.

01:20:52 Last question, I'll stick with Dr. Castellano.

01:20:56 To do no-till farming, you have to have pesticides.

01:21:00 You have to be able to kill the weeds and that type of thing.

01:21:05 There's a lot of frustration in Kansas over the EPA, again, being over-prescriptive.

01:21:09 It's going to prevent us from doing some of these conservation projects we've been doing

01:21:12 decades.

01:21:13 How are we doing in Iowa?

01:21:14 Any concern about that?

01:21:17 In Iowa, we have some concerns.

01:21:20 In fact, we have seen increases in tillage in places where no-till works because of a

01:21:27 lack of herbicide availability, effective herbicide availability.

01:21:32 It's too simple.

01:21:33 Again, I think if we just give our farmers and ranchers the tools, they're going to do

01:21:37 the right thing.

01:21:38 What I see coming up in the next farm bills, we're being overly prescriptive.

01:21:43 That very much concerns me.

01:21:44 Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

01:21:46 Thanks Senator Marshall.

01:21:47 Senator Padilla.

01:21:48 Thank you, Mr. Chair.

01:21:49 Colleagues, there are few places where the challenges of climate change, extreme weather,

01:21:58 and fluctuations in precipitation are felt more acutely than in California.

01:22:04 The corresponding water scarcity, insecurity has created some really challenging circumstances

01:22:11 and at times some intense conflict for water users in California.

01:22:16 You can see it from the Klamath River Basin on the Oregon border to the Sacramento-San

01:22:21 Joaquin Delta and all the way down to the Colorado River and other places in between.

01:22:27 That's why last Congress I fought so relentlessly to ensure that the Inflation Reduction Act

01:22:32 included funding for Interior to help regions experiencing not just drought but severe drought

01:22:39 and to drive collaborative solutions to perennial water conflicts.

01:22:44 Congress yesterday participated in a ceremony at the Department of Interior with some of

01:22:49 our agricultural water users in the San Joaquin Valley to celebrate a historic agreement that

01:22:56 leverages our IRA dollars to solve some of our trickiest water fights in the San Joaquin

01:23:02 Valley.

01:23:04 Mr. Hachikalew, you've worked with Interior to leverage IRA investments to help alleviate

01:23:10 Colorado River water conflicts with creative solutions.

01:23:14 Can you speak to how important it is for Congress to continue providing this type of funding?

01:23:20 Sure.

01:23:21 I want to thank you for your leadership and to me yesterday's signing ceremony is an example

01:23:27 of the collaboration.

01:23:28 I also want to say that Metropolitan two weeks ago signed partnerships with the farmers in

01:23:35 Central Valley and San Joaquin Valley to talk about how we can collaborate to address the

01:23:39 issues of groundwater basins and how we can store water when we have it in the Central

01:23:44 Valley to help the farmers, help us and be able to leverage.

01:23:48 And that's great collaboration adaptation to the changes that we're seeing.

01:23:52 But on the front of the Colorado River is our farmers, as you heard, have been leading

01:23:58 the way in conservation, but they can't do it alone and they need the help financially

01:24:03 to help.

01:24:04 So we're working with the farmers in Palo Verde Irrigation District or Imperial Valley

01:24:09 to implement and we're able to actually invest a huge amount of money in on farm conservation.

01:24:15 But one of the things that we have done is actually work with the farmers to do what

01:24:21 we call seasonal farming.

01:24:23 And that means that if during the winter time where the commodities and the vegetables are

01:24:29 growing is really valuable across the nation, they can farm.

01:24:33 But during the summer where there is a huge competition for whatever they're farming,

01:24:37 we can keep the land idle and save that water and put it away.

01:24:41 But we need to support them financially.

01:24:44 What we've done is through this IRA, it helped them right now in getting the funding to conserve

01:24:49 more water so we can put back in Lake Mead and not only serve California, but serve the

01:24:54 entire Southwest and help us come together.

01:24:59 We're doing the same thing in the Board Irrigation District down by Yuma, where by doing the

01:25:04 seasonal farming, the farmers are taking some of the money that's being paid to them to

01:25:08 line canals and be more efficient and implement on farm conservation.

01:25:13 I'm working with the tribes.

01:25:15 The Kitson tribe by the Yuma area, we're also partnering with the Colorado River Indian

01:25:20 tribes we met with them last week to find new ways of farming.

01:25:25 But I think to me, the money that we have from the IRA is helping bridge the gap.

01:25:30 Now when you go to communities that are farmers, behind every farm there is communities and

01:25:35 people that suffer.

01:25:37 So Metropolitan invested a lot of money also in community benefits and trying to find ways

01:25:42 to uplift people.

01:25:43 And your funding from the IRA has been a huge help and the Bureau of Reclamation's help

01:25:47 has been great.

01:25:48 That's great.

01:25:49 I want to make sure I make time for one additional question relative to resources.

01:25:53 Seasonal farming is a great example.

01:25:55 We've been working together on multi-benefit or alternative use of fallowed lands as well.

01:26:01 But it's not just funding for severe drought that I want to highlight today.

01:26:05 Federal investment in water infrastructure as a whole has declined about 77% since its

01:26:12 peak in the 1970s.

01:26:14 And although Congress has begun to rectify this by making transformational investments

01:26:20 in water infrastructure through the bipartisan infrastructure law, we know that the funding

01:26:26 through that measure is just a down payment.

01:26:29 It's not the end all, be all.

01:26:31 And it's critical that we continue to fund water infrastructure to help water systems

01:26:36 become more resilient to climate change.

01:26:39 Follow-up question to you, Adele.

01:26:41 How can Congress best help water systems continue to drought-proof their infrastructure?

01:26:46 I mean, to me, the affordability question is huge.

01:26:50 And I appreciate the bill that introduced 30-8-30.

01:26:54 And for us to really, as you said, the federal help is a down payment.

01:26:57 Most of the rates are going to be raised locally.

01:26:59 But the biggest issue we have is there is communities that are suffering, that are,

01:27:03 you know, working two jobs, that they can't move it, whether it's San Fernando or Compton

01:27:07 in our region.

01:27:08 We need to find ways to help them.

01:27:10 So when we invest in the resiliency, we talk about $30 billion investments we need to make.

01:27:14 How can we do it without causing hardship on the communities that are underserved or

01:27:19 disadvantaged?

01:27:20 And getting the low-income assistance program is going to help us increase the rates that

01:27:24 we need to do without causing hardship on the communities that we serve.

01:27:27 I'm glad you mentioned the low-income.

01:27:29 I know Chairman Whitehouse spoke to the need for a low-income water assistance program

01:27:37 earlier as well, because you know who's hardest hit when it comes to these increased costs.

01:27:42 The last question in closing is can you speak for a moment about the value or need to not

01:27:48 just fund, make infrastructure investments, but for the federal government to be partners

01:27:54 in funding ongoing maintenance and operations?

01:27:57 Yeah, it's critical.

01:28:00 As part of the IRA funding, one of it is how we can reduce our dependence on imported water.

01:28:05 And I'll give two examples.

01:28:07 A number of communities in Southern California are on groundwater wells.

01:28:10 And a number of them are struggling with ensuring they maintain the water quality that we need

01:28:16 in these wells, whether it's because of PFAS or some contamination.

01:28:21 And we have an interest in making sure those communities stay on groundwater, because if

01:28:24 they get off groundwater and these systems fail, they will have to go to import water,

01:28:29 which has a huge rate shock.

01:28:31 So using the funding, and we asked the Bureau of Reclamation to help us fund some of these

01:28:35 communities in San Fernando and Compton and Fullerton and Santa Ana in our region to make

01:28:41 sure that they stay on groundwater and protect them from the contamination and provide our

01:28:45 communities safe water.

01:28:47 So if we can continue those investments, we not only provide resiliency and response to

01:28:52 the drought, but also ensure that we are doing the right thing for our future and giving

01:28:56 safe water for our communities.

01:28:58 One final thing, colleagues, for the committee to consider is a pretty simple example of

01:29:05 leaky pipes.

01:29:06 Right?

01:29:07 In a drought-stricken western United States, the last thing we can afford is to lose a

01:29:12 significant amount of water supply due to leaky pipes, which is simply a result of old

01:29:17 infrastructure and deferred maintenance.

01:29:22 And so if we're going to make these investments to upgrade, to modernize our infrastructure,

01:29:25 let's not make the same mistake again.

01:29:27 The better we maintain, the less likely we're going to be in this situation in the near

01:29:33 future of losing a precious resource to something as simple as leaky pipes.

01:29:39 With that, thank you, Mr. Chair.

01:29:43 Excellent words to end on.

01:29:44 I want to thank the witnesses for appearing before the committee today.

01:29:46 Their full written statements are a part of the record.

01:29:50 As information for all senators, questions for the record are due by 12 noon tomorrow

01:29:54 with signed hard copies delivered to the committee clerk in Dirksen 624.

01:29:59 Emailed copies are also fine.

01:30:01 We ask the witnesses, if you receive questions for the record, to respond timely, specifically

01:30:06 within seven days of receipt.

01:30:08 With no further business before the committee, I again thank the witnesses, and the hearing

01:30:12 is adjourned.

01:30:13 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Sheldon Whitehouse Leads Senate Budget Cmte Hearing On Impact Of Climate Change On Water Scarcity

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