Sustainable groundwater grant awarded to Savory Basin Project

Fresno Irrigation District’s (FID) recently announced their  Savory Basin Project (Project) was awarded $1.2 million included in a total award of $4.8 million to the Kings Subbasin by the CA Department of Water Resources (DWR) Sustainable Groundwater Management (SGM) Implementation Grant Program.

The Project, located within the North Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency’s (North Kings GSA) boundaries, will help FID achieve its sustainability goals by recharging the groundwater aquifer. This Project provides a direct benefit to adjacent disadvantaged community, Shady Lakes Mobile Home Park, and several private well owners.

“The receipt of these grant funds allows FID to continue its long-standing commitment to groundwater recharge projects, enabling FID to capture additional surface water during wet years,” stated Bill Stretch, FID’s General Manager. “We have to increase our capacity to store surface water in wet years to develop a secure water supply during dry years for irrigation and drinking water. This grant enables us to do just that and FID appreciates DWR’s financial commitment to enable completion of the project.”

The Savory Basin Project will result in a 30-acre basin to recharge, on average, an additional 900 acre-feet of groundwater annually. The multi benefit project received support from residents in the nearby Shady Lakes Mobile Home Park for its capacity to improve groundwater levels and increase supply reliability. The Project results will also benefit other groundwater users including growers and nearby domestic well owners.

The Kings Subbasin grant application, submitted by FID on behalf of the GSAs, included three additional projects as part of the total $4.8 million award: the City of Kerman’s Lyon’s Park Basin Project, and one project each in the Kings River East and South Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency boundaries. The SGM Implementation Grant is funded by Proposition 68 and administered by DWR.