Commentary: Water infrastructure modernization act — safeguarding our Valley’s future

When our rivers and canals are flowing, our farms are green, and our homes and gardens have the clean water they need, our community thrives. Too often, this reality has not been a reality for working Valley families. Republicans and Democrats have been so busy blaming each other for our water shortages that the only thing Washington politicians have been able to agree on is doing nothing. They have allowed our dams, canals, and levees to crumble and our families and farms to suffer. That is why I am proud to introduce the Water Infrastructure Modernization Act with Democratic Representative Ruben Gallego.

The Act will invest $50 million to create and use new water technologies to repair and improve the existing dams, canals, and levees Washington has ignored for too long. This means clean, affordable water in our communities so that our kids can live better lives than us. This means farms growing food that working families can afford. This means good-paying jobs back in our Valley.

Our water systems desperately need updating. Communities from Madera to Mendota are grappling with crumbling dams, canals filled with debris, and unsafe levees that threaten our working families with flooding. Recent drought and flooding have stressed our dams, canals, and levees like never before. The Water Infrastructure Modernization Act tackles these challenges head-on by funding new technologies to better locate and repair damages and make smarter decisions when we face flooding.