Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program Reauthorization Act of 2026

This bill extends a federal program that measures snowpack and forecasts water supply from snowmelt. It changes the program's purpose from developing new snow measurement technology to continuing that work and using it to improve water supply forecasts, including through imaging spectroscopy, machine learning, and snowpack and hydrologic modeling. The program would focus on river basins where forecasts can inform water decisions across multiple water users, basins, or states. A required report would add an assessment comparing forecasts from new technologies against forecasts from the Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The bill authorizes $3,000,000 for each fiscal year from 2027 through 2031.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• John W. Hickenlooper Democrat sponsor
• 1 cosponsors