Cooperative Watershed Management Program Reauthorization Act of 2026
Key claim: The Cooperative Watershed Management Program Reauthorization Act of 2026 (S4041) would reauthorize the Cooperative Watershed Management Program and was ordered reported favorably with a substitute amendment by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Abstract
(S4041 · 119th Congress) Latest action (2026-07-29): Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Why this matters
The Cooperative Watershed Management Program supports locally-led watershed groups that coordinate water use among farmers, ranchers, municipalities, and tribes—stakeholders whose competing demands directly affect irrigation reliability and rural water quality. Reauthorization would preserve a federal funding channel for these voluntary partnerships, with downstream implications for agricultural water availability and conservation planning.