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H.R. 3857 · House bill · 119th Congress
This bill reauthorizes through FY2031 and modifies the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program of the Bureau of Reclamation. Under the existing program, Reclamation implements activities to improve snowpack measurements used for water supply forecasts in certain western states.
The bill directs Reclamation to incorporate, to the greatest extent practicable, information from technologies that provide complete integration of accurate, timely, and spatially complete snowpack measurements and models when determining water supply forecasts or allocations to federal water contractors.
Additionally, the bill requires the program's framework to emphasize the deployment of technologies that provide integration of snowpack measuring and modeling. The bill also requires the program's focus—activities that maintain, establish, expand, or advance snowpack measurement and integrated modeling—to place an emphasis on (1) enhancing activities to achieve improved snow and water supply forecasting results that are more responsive to changing weather and watershed conditions, (2) real-time integration of measurement and modeling activities with water supply forecasts, (3) activities in river basins where measurements or modeling can produce snow and water supply data to inform water management decisions, and (4) building the capacity of the program partners to implement and adapt to the new measurement and forecast capabilities.
This Act may be cited as the “Snow Water Supply Forecasting Reauthorization Act of 2025”.
The Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program Authorization Act (43 U.S.C. 1477) is amended—
(1) in subsection (c)(2)—
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking “culminating in the report required under subsection (d)(3)” and inserting “with an emphasis on deployment of technologies that provide integration of snowpack measuring and modeling”; and
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking “after submitting the report required by subsection (d)(3),”;
(2) in subsection (d)—
(A) in paragraph (1)—
(i) in the heading, by adding “with integrated modeling” after “data”;
(ii) by striking “emerging technologies for snowpack measurement, such as” and inserting “technologies that provide complete integration of accurate, timely, and spatially complete snowpack measurements and models, including the integration of”; and
(iii) by striking subparagraphs (A) through (C) and inserting the following:
“(A) airborne laser altimetry;
(B) imaging spectroscopy;
(C) integrated physics-based snowpack and hydrologic modeling; and
(D) other technologies that the Secretary determines are likely to provide more accurate or timely snowpack measurement data commensurate with operational water management needs.”;
(B) in paragraph (2) by inserting “, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Natural Resources Conservation Service,” after “other Federal agencies”; and
(C) by striking paragraph (3);
(3) in subsection (e)—
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking “After submitting the report required under subsection (d)(3), the” and inserting “The”; and
(B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
“(2) Focus.— The program shall focus on activities that will maintain, establish, expand, or advance snowpack measurement and integrated modeling, with an emphasis on—
(A) enhancing activities to achieve improved snow and water supply forecasting results that are more responsive to changing weather and watershed conditions;
(B) real-time integration of activities described in this section with water supply forecasts;
(C) activities in river basins where activities described in this section can produce snow and water supply data to inform water management decisions, including interstate water management decisions; and
(D) building program partners’ capacity to implement and adapt to the new measurement and forecast capabilities enabled under this program.”;
(4) in subsection (f)—
(A) by striking “of this Act” and inserting “of the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Reauthorization Act of 2025”;
(B) in paragraph (1)—
(i) by striking “and sub-basins”;
(ii) by striking “technologies” and inserting “and integrated modeling technologies”; and
(iii) by striking “technology used” and inserting “application, outcome, and data resources used”; and
(C) in paragraph (2), by striking “or sub-basin”; and
(5) in subsection (g), by striking “$15,000,000, in the aggregate, for fiscal years 2022 through 2026” and inserting “$3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031”.