DWR awards second phase of multibenefit drought relief funding

Funding for drought relief continues to be doled out by the state in an effort to make California more resilient in the face of lingering drought conditions.

Monday, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced its second phase of funding through the Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Grant program.  Of the $180 million in funding, half will support various types of water supply projects including groundwater, surface water, recycled water, and supply reliability. The other half of the awarded funds will finance projects focused on water conservation, groundwater recharge, water quality, and habitat restoration.

“With minimal precipitation and a depleting snowpack, our focus remains on helping our communities respond to ongoing drought conditions,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “Infrastructure funding commitments like these grants and improvements to water use efficiency will provide for clean, reliable water supply even during severe droughts. All Californians must do their part by reducing water use to stretch those water supplies. We’re all in this together.”

Some of the projects to receive funding in this round are:

• The Tahoe City Public Utility District in Placer County will receive $5 million to construct a new domestic drinking water treatment plant.
• The Montague Water Conservation District in Humboldt County will receive $970,000 to line 6,000 feet of the district’s main canal to improve water supply reliability for agriculture, municipal users and enhance instream conditions to benefit salmonids.
• The Cachuma Operation and Maintenance Board in Santa Barbara County will receive $2.2 million to install a new pipeline to allow existing lake infrastructure access to deeper lake levels.
• The Santa Margarita Water District in San Luis Obispo County will receive $4.5 million to construct a groundwater filtration plant and new pipelines to reduce the district’s dependency on imported water supplies.
• The City of San Diego will receive $617,000 to rehabilitate the El Toro Water District’s potable water reservoir, which is at high risk of failure due to leaks and impaired water quality.
• Kern County Water Agency’s Improvement District 4 will receive $3.5 million to line an existing earthen canal to reduce seepage and improve water delivery reliability.

Since launching the Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Grant program in October 2021,

DWR has received more than $1.4 billion in requests for funding since the program began last October. A third phase of funding is expected later this spring for approximately $30 million in remaining funds targeted to underrepresented communities and Tribes.