SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Today the Bureau of Reclamation announced the selection of two California projects to receive $1 million total in CALFED Water Use Efficiency grants for fiscal year 2021. Combined with local cost-share contributions, these projects are expected to implement about $4.7 million in water management improvements during the next two years.
The projects will conserve an estimated 1,200 acre-feet per year of water and better manage 8,160 acre-feet, 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). An acre-foot is the amount of water that would cover an acre, about a football field, one foot deep.
Reclamation made the selection through a competitive process, prioritizing projects addressing CALFED goals on a statewide basis. See below to learn more about the two selected applicants and their projects.
Semitropic Water Storage District, $500,000
The B230 System Extension Project is in Kern County near the cities of Wasco and Shafter. The project will connect the B369 System Extension pipeline to Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District’s Leonard Avenue Intertie pipeline. It will also allow for conveyance of surplus Central Valley Project water to Semitropic Water Storage District’s landowners currently dependent on groundwater. By connecting these pipelines, this project will better manage 4,560 acre-feet of water annually over the over the 50-year life of the project and the benefits to the California Bay-Delta are estimated at 1,194 acre-feet annually. The total project cost is $3,484,666 with a federal cost share of $500,000.
Shafter Wasco Irrigation District, $500,000
Located near the City of Shafter, construction of the Merced Avenue Recharge Intertie Project will install new pipeline to convey surface water supplies to three farms for groundwater recharge. This new, innovative practice at the three farms will use perforated pipe installed under the root zone, enabling the fields to remain in production while subsurface groundwater recharge occurs. This new intertie will save an average of 1,200 acre-feet of water annually and better manage 3,600 acre-feet annually over the 50-year life of the project. Annual water savings to the California Bay-Delta is estimated at 756 acre-feet annually, while water management benefits to the California Bay-Delta are estimated at 2,270 acre-feet annually. The total project cost is $1,199,231 with a federal cost share of $500,000.
Fiscal year 2022 CALFED funding is currently open for application through Notice of Funding Opportunity BOR-CGB-21-F001 on www.grants.gov and will close Nov. 30, 2021. For more information on the Water Use Efficiency Program, contact Anna Sutton at asutton@usbr.gov or 916-978-5214 (TTY 800-877-8339).
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
