California Water News Daily Your Source For Water News in California
More than $65 million in grant funding was awarded yesterday by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) as part of a continued effort to support local agencies in building long-term water resilience for their communities.
The funding, made possible by Proposition 1, (the $7.5 billion water bond approved by California voters in 2014), will help fund projects such as groundwater replenishment and habitat restoration within the Colorado River, Lahontan, San Francisco Bay Area and Santa Ana areas. More than $12 million of this amount targets projects that also help disadvantaged and underrepresented communities, including Tribal governments.
“In the face of a changing climate, it is imperative that we continue to invest in projects that will help California achieve a more sustainable, climate-resilient future,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “These funds provide the resources needed by local agencies to not only address but overcome the water challenges in their communities.”
Some of the projects to receive funding are:
- City of Coachella, $1 million – to consolidate the Castro Mobile Home Park into the Coachella Water Authority potable water system. This will provide safe, reliable water to a disadvantaged community.
- Big Pine Community Services District, $140,000 – to improve an aging wastewater treatment plant by constructing an evaporation and percolation pond to expand capacity for treated wastewater and protect the community’s groundwater.
- Orange County Water District, $3.6 million – to construct the final phase of the Groundwater Replenishment System to recharge an underlying groundwater aquifer to serve more than 1 million county residents.
- Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, $1.4 million – to enhance 196 acres of coastal wetlands and reduce flood risk for local communities.
For more information, visit the Implementation Grant Program webpage.
