NEWS RELEASE

Secretary Kempthorne Announces $1.3 Million in Grants for Water Conservation Projects in West

WASHINGTON – Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has approved $1.3 million in Water 2025 Challenge Grants for water conservation projects across the West. The grants will help fund ten projects in seven states. Including the matching contributions of non-federal partners, the selected projects represent a combined investment of more than $5.6 million in water management improvements.

Click on the image above for High Resolution The Yuma County Water Users Association installed an improved automated water tracking system, rebuilt key canal structures and added two new water measurement stations with the $246,221 Water 2025 grant it received in fiscal year 2004. The total project cost was $615,552.

"The western states are experiencing increasing water supply challenges, and the continuing drought makes these pressures more acute,” Kempthorne said. "Chronic water shortages, explosive population growth, over-allocated watersheds, environmental needs and aging water facilities are combining to create the potential for crisis and conflict over water.

"Being proactive is the best approach to prevent water conflicts," Kempthorne continued. "These grants will help prevent conflict over the limited water resources in the West by stretching existing supplies and improving aging infrastructure through realistic and cooperative local approaches."

These grants, awarded by the Bureau of Reclamation, fund a variety of projects that will improve the efficient use of existing water supplies through water conservation, efficiency and water market projects. The Challenge Grant Program focuses on meeting the goals identified in Water 2025: Preventing Crises and Conflict in the West.

Water 2025 encourages voluntary water banks and other market-based measures as authorized under state law, promotes the use of new technology for water conservation and efficiency, and removes institutional barriers to increase cooperation and collaboration among federal, state, tribal and private organizations.

In Oregon, for example, the Three Sisters Irrigation District will install 11,300 linear feet of pressurized pipe to replace an existing open canal. The project is estimated to save 750 acre-feet of water per year. (An acre-foot is about 325,851 gallons – enough to meet the annual needs of two urban households.)

In South Dakota, the Belle Fourche Irrigation District will line approximately 1,750 feet of the inlet canal and make the saved water available to the district's water bank. The project is estimated to save 1,233 acre-feet of water per year.

The agencies and groups that proposed the ten projects will now work with Reclamation to secure a cooperative agreement and complete regulatory processes. Groundbreaking on the projects is expected by the end of September and they must be completed within two years.

More information on Water 2025 is at www.doi.gov/water2025.

Fiscal Year 2006 Water 2025
Challenge Grant Awards

Arizona

Central Arizona Irrigation & Drainage District: The district will fully automate six lateral canals, including implementation of remote monitoring and control capabilities at twenty-six sites and ultrasonic water meters at lateral headings and farm deliveries. The project is estimated to save 605 acre-feet of water per year. The total project cost is $214,000, including a Water 2025 contribution of $100,000.

California

Fresno Irrigation District: The district will construct a new control structure on the Enterprise Canal with automatic control gates, construct a new spill structure with automatic control gates, replace the existing flume structure, and connect to the district’s telemetry system. The project will allow water to be diverted to a conveyance system that can deliver water to the district’s water banking facility. The project is estimated to save 6,000 acre-feet of water per year. The total project cost is $940,500, including a Water 2025 contribution of $300,000.

Solano Irrigation District: The district will construct a new recovery dam, including new concrete canal lining upstream and downstream of the dam, to reduce canal spills and seepage losses. The project is estimated to save 500 acre-feet of water per year. The total project cost is $150,000, including a Water 2025 contribution of $70,000.

Montana

Bitter Root Irrigation District: The district will install an underground siphon across Dry Gulch, with automated sensors and controls, to eliminate approximately three miles of unlined canal. The project is estimated to save 892 acre-feet of water per year. The total project cost is $285,000, including a Water 2025 contribution of $70,000.

Nebraska

Bostwick Irrigation District in Nebraska: The district will replace up to 3.6 miles of open ditch with buried pipe. The project is estimated to save between 238 and 720 acre-feet of water per year. The total project cost is $432,269, including a Water 2025 contribution of $100,000.

Oregon

Central Oregon Irrigation District: The district will expand the operations of the existing Central Oregon Water Bank. Activities will include development of an on-line water rights management system, development of a storage program for the bank, and further capitalization of reserves and bank operations. The total project cost is $310,713, including a Water 2025 contribution of $99,937.

Three Sisters Irrigation District: The district will install 11,300 linear feet of pressurized pipe to replace an existing open canal. The project is estimated to save 750 acre-feet of water per year. The total project cost is $1,352,000, including a Water 2025 contribution of $300,000.

South Dakota

Belle Fourche Irrigation District: In the second phase of a project to line the inlet canal for the Belle Fourche Reservoir, the district will line approximately 1,750 feet of the canal. Saved water will be marketed in the district’s water bank. The project is estimated to save 1,233 acre-feet of water per year. The total project cost is $200,000, including a Water 2025 contribution of $100,000.

Utah

Huntsville South Bench Canal Co.: The canal company will replace 3.3 miles of open canal with pipe and will install seventeen turnout structures. The project is estimated to save 430 acre-feet of water per year. The total project cost is $1,430,000, including a Water 2025 contribution of $100,000.

State of Utah, Division of Water Resources: The Division of Water Resources will install 250 to 300 landscape evapotranspiration controllers in residential irrigation systems to improve water use efficiency. The project is estimated to save 103 acre-feet of water per year. The total project cost is $298,000, including a Water 2025 contribution of $100,000.

- www.doi.gov/water2025 -

- DOI -