DWR Announces $83.9 Million in Grants for Local and Regional Water Resilience Projects

Last week the Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced they have awarded $83.9 million in grants to communities in the Sacramento, San Joaquin, San Diego, Sierra and Central Coast regions.

The source of monies awarded comes from the voter-approved Proposition 1 and are administered by DWR’s Integrated Regional Water Management Program. The funds will support projects that address aging infrastructure, flood control, depleted groundwater levels and other critical needs in communities throughout the state.

“Water is such a vital resource, that it is critical we continue to take action to ensure communities have access to clean water supplies, reliable flood protection and healthy ecosystems” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “These grants will support agencies and projects to continue local momentum in creating a more diverse water supply portfolio, strengthening partnerships and addressing climate change.”

The projects and their grant amounts are:

• Sewage Commission-Oroville Region – $3.8 million in grant funding to replace and improve infrastructure for collecting, treating and reusing wastewater.
• Lower Cosumnes River – $1 million. Water will be diverted from a nearby water supply canal during heavy storm periods and spread on 129 acres of agricultural land, allowing recharge of the groundwater basin for later use during dry periods.
• Merced Irrigation District – $1.32 million grant to reduce flood risk and provide more reliable drinking water supplies for the disadvantaged communities of Le Grand and other surrounding areas.
• National City – $3.7 million in funding for a multi-benefit community enhancement project in Paradise Valley Creek. The project will divert stormwater runoff to a biofiltration basin where pollutants will be removed and replace old concrete lining in the creek with more fish-friendly natural streambank reinforcement.
• Central Coast Wetlands Group and City of Salinas – $1 million to make critical improvements to existing stormwater and wastewater infrastructure, enhancing the ability of these systems to capture, store and convey water for various beneficial uses and reduce downstream flooding.
• Mariposa County Resource Conservation District – $700,000 for the Bootjack Fire Station Water Storage Project, which will increase the amount of water locally available to fight the increasing number of wildfires in the watershed.

To date, nearly $175.1 million has been awarded. This is the third set of funding awards that have been released under this program since April 2020. For more information, visit the IRWM Grant Program webpage.