Interior Announces Latest $6.5 Million in Grant Funding to Help Relieve Drought in California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Department of the Interior today announced that its Bureau of Reclamation is awarding grants totaling $6.5 million for more efficient management and conservation of California's water as part of the Obama Administration's effort to bring relief to drought-stricken communities.

“These are just the latest grants in the President's all-hands-on-deck campaign to alleviate the impacts of this historic drought in California and throughout the West,” said U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Interior Mike Connor. “The entire government is dedicated to helping respond to continued drought conditions. We know that water is the lifeblood of our communities and every drop counts.”

Last month in Los Angeles, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced nearly $50 million in investments through Interior's WaterSMART program in western water conservation and water reuse projects, including a number in California.

Today's fiscal year 2015 grant awardees include three projects* totaling $1.98 million from the Agricultural Water Conservation and Efficiency program (AWCE) and 10 projects** with eight grant recipients totaling $4.5 million from the CALFED Water Use Efficiency program.

The 10 projects that were selected to receive CALFED Water Use Efficiency grants will conserve an estimated 9,891 acre-feet per year of water, contributing to the CALFED Bay-Delta Program objectives of improving ecosystem health, water supply reliability and water quality. California and federal agencies are partners in the 30-year program (2000-2030). Reclamation selected the projects through a competitive process, giving priority consideration to projects that address CALFED goals on a statewide basis.

The $1.98 million in AWCE grants announced today will be combined with local cost-share contributions, resulting in approximately $4 million in water management improvement projects during the next 24 months. The $4.5 million in CALFED grants will be combined with at least 50 percent local cost-share contributions to achieve more than $23 million in water management improvement projects during the next 24 months.

The AWCE Grant Program is a joint program with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to promote district-level water conservation improvements that facilitate on-farm water use efficiency and conservation projects. With NRCS support, Reclamation selected these three applicants for funding: Arvin-Edison Water Storage District, Los Carneros Water District and Semitropic Water Storage District.

“This fifth year of drought continues to wreak havoc on California communities and agriculture,” said Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Estevan López. “The resources that Reclamation and our NRCS partner are providing will help those impacted by the drought to better manage scarce water supplies now and be better prepared for drought in the future.”

“The Natural Resources Conservation Service is pleased to continue this strong partnership with Reclamation,” said State Conservationist Carlos Suarez. “This partnership is going into the fourth year, having provided numerous benefits to farmers and ranchers who use this financial assistance to significantly improve the use of water resources on their farms and ranches.”

The projects will increase district-level efficiencies and facilitate farm water conservation and water use efficiency. Once Reclamation and the water/irrigation districts have signed agreements and developed working plans, NRCS will announce an application period to provide complementary funding and technical assistance to eligible growers in the selected districts.

These projects are just the latest examples of work under the National Drought Resiliency Partnership, a federal interagency group called for under President Obama's Climate Action Plan. The second anniversary of the Climate Action Plan occurs this month.

Following are the lists of selected projects announced today:

*AGRICULTURE WATER CONSERVATION AND EFFICIENCY GRANT RECIPIENTS:

Arvin-Edison Water Storage District, $500,000 (Bakersfield area, Kern County)
The Arvin-Edison Water Storage District Pilot Groundwater Metering Project includes the purchase and installation of water measurement devices to quantify on-farm usage. These devices would fill a vital data gap and quantify actual groundwater extractions throughout the District. Groundwater metering information will help the District establish a more accurate and effective Groundwater Sustainability Plan. This project is expected to better manage 83,276 acre-feet of water annually over its 20-year lifespan.

Los Carneros Water District, $730,000 (Napa County)
The Irrigation Efficiency Partnership Project will install technologically advanced metering, monitoring and reporting systems that accompany the construction of the recycled water pipeline. This project will work to build resilience to drought and support the efficient use of the scarce water resource by providing water users with near “real time” data on water consumption volume and rate. Users will be able to detect inefficiencies and problems with the field irrigation systems and take immediate corrective actions. This project is expected to save 138 acre-feet of water over its 20-year lifespan.

Semitropic Water Storage District, $750,000 (Bakersfield area, Kern County)
The Groundwater Well Operational Data Acquisition and Solar Power Project includes the installation of a remote acquisition system on private groundwater wells, discharge pipes that tie into the District's conveyance network and construction of a solar power production facility. The project will facilitate the conservation of groundwater resources with the District, measure on-farm and District water use for operational management, and provide renewable, upgraded energy production. The project is expected to better manage 69,500 acre-feet of water annually over its 30-year lifespan.

**CALFED WATER USE EFFICIENCY GRANT RECIPIENTS:

Central California Irrigation District (Merced County)
Reclamation Funding: $600,000; Total Project Cost: $1,219,700
The District will construct a 20-acre recharge facility to recharge 500 acre-feet per year to the local groundwater basin. The lifetime water savings of the project are estimated to be 15,000 acre-feet. The annual savings of the project are estimated to be 500 acre-feet.

Eastern Municipal Water District (Perris, Riverside County)
Reclamation Funding: $438,640; Total Project Cost: $1,427,319
The District will assist public schools in replacing non-functional turf with climate-appropriate landscapes and will install efficiency irrigation devices. The lifetime water savings of the project are estimated to be 3,190 acre-feet. The annual savings of the project are estimated to be 319 acre-feet.

Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District (Riverside)
Reclamation Funding: $750,000; Total Project Cost: $5,138,371
The District will upgrade existing water meter data management with Advanced Metering Infrastructure and Meter Transmission Units. The lifetime water savings of the project are estimated to be 8,720 acre-feet. The annual savings of the project are estimated to be 436 acre-feet.

Firebaugh Canal Water District (Fresno County)
Reclamation Funding: $500,000; Total Project Cost: $1,097,000
The District will replace 1.5 miles of an unlined canal with a concrete-lined canal. The lifetime water savings of the project are estimated to be 6,240 acre-feet. The annual savings of the project are estimated to be 208 acre-feet.

Garden Highway Mutual Water Company (Yuba City, Sutter County)
Reclamation Funding: $170,319; Total Project Cost: $340,638
The Company will reduce operational spillage and tailwater through infrastructure improvements and real-time flow monitoring and diversion control. The lifetime water savings of the project are estimated to be 9,800 acre-feet. The annual savings of the project are estimated to be 280 acre-feet.

Inland Empire Utilities Agency (San Bernardino County)
Reclamation Funding: $750,000; Total Project Cost: $8,940,000
The Agency will expand and improve two existing recharge basin facilities. The lifetime water savings of the project are estimated to be 123,000 acre-feet. The annual savings of the project are estimated to be 4,100 acre-feet.

Natomas Central Mutual Water Company (Sacramento Metro region)
Reclamation Funding: $560,200; Total Project Cost: $1,122,600
Through three separate projects, the Company will modify field turnouts to provide flow measurement capabilities, including weir boxes and portable velocimeters; install water level sensors and pump runtime meters; and reconstruct an existing check structure to include an automatic level control gate with water level sensors and flow meters integrated into the SCADA system. The lifetime water savings of all three projects are estimated to be 77,000 acre-feet. The annual savings of all three projects are estimated to be 3,700 acre-feet.

City of Sacramento
Reclamation Funding: $750,000; Total Project Cost: $3,772,279
The City will install approximately 3,000 residential water meters and replace approximately 200,000 square feet of turf with drought-tolerant plants. The lifetime water savings of the project are estimated to be 6,960 acre-feet. The annual savings of the project are estimated to be 348 acre-feet.