Joint House-Senate committee approves combined recommendations on state water plan

The Joint House and Senate Surface Water Study Committee voted unanimously, 7to0, to approve a combined version of House and Senate recommendations on the state water plan and related oversight.

The measure asks that the state Attorney General's office be kept informed about interstate water-transfer conflicts, urges exploration of water-recycling options for industrial and agricultural uses and some hospitality applications, recommends continuing or formalizing WaterSC as a standing entity, and endorses treating the state water plan as a living document with defined triggers for updates.

Committee members said the combined recommendation reflects common ground between the chambers and aims to keep state policymakers better informed and more responsive. "I would submit a motion to accept the committee recommendations, which is a combination of the Senate and the House version, as our official recommendation," said Representative Kirby, who moved adoption of the recommendations. The motion received a second and passed on roll call.

DES staff were directed to provide the committee with reporting on water quality and quantity as issues arise and to clarify the periodicity of basin-council reports. Committee clerical staff said the report will be sent by joint House and Senate email, attached to the report, to the respective clerks' offices and posted on committee websites ahead of the stated Monday deadline.

The committee's formal action—approving the combined recommendations—moves the document to each chamber for consideration. Members said the committee will continue work and monitoring beyond the report.

The committee adjourned after members thanked agency staff and committee support personnel.