S. 2437 · Passed Senate · Water Resources Development

Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program Reauthorization Act of 2026

What it does

Amends the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program to emphasize development and deployment of more accurate, timely, and cost-effective snow monitoring technologies, including technologies that integrate snowpack measuring and modeling.
Expands the program's authorized technologies to include imaging spectroscopy, machine learning, snowpack and hydrologic modeling, and other technologies the Secretary determines can improve water supply forecasting for water management and reservoir operations.
Requires the program to partner with the Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on technologies for snowpack measurement and models.
Directs the program to focus on activities in river basins where snowpack measurement and water supply forecasting can inform water management decisions at multi-water user, multi-basin, or multi-state scales, including interstate water management.
Reauthorizes the program at $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

Oct 5, 2026: Held at the desk.

Committee: Senate Energy and Natural Resources