The U.S. Department of the Interior recently announced $210 million in funding for drought resilience projects in the western United States.
According to a press release, the projects aim to develop about 1.7 million acre-feet of additional water storage capacity, which is enough water to support 6.8 million people for a year. This funding will also invest in studying water storage feasibility, which could advance water storage capacity once completed.
“In the wake of severe drought across the West, the Department is putting funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to work to expand access to clean, reliable water and mitigate the impacts of this crisis,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said, according to the press release. “Water is essential to every community – for feeding families, growing crops, powering agricultural businesses, and sustaining wildlife and our environment. Through the investments we are announcing today, we will advance water storage and conveyance supporting local water management agencies, farmers, families and wildlife.”
Funding for these projects is a part of the $1.05 billion in Water Storage, Groundwater Storage and Conveyance Projects provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. That law allocates $8.3 billion total for Bureau of Reclamation water infrastructure projects over the next five years to advance drought resilience technology and expand access to clean water for families, farmers, and wildlife. These investments will repair aging water delivery systems, secure dams, complete rural water projects, and protect aquatic ecosystems.
“Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Biden-Harris administration is dramatically advancing our mission at the Bureau of Reclamation to deliver water and power in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner for the American West,” Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said, according to the press release. “Our investment in these projects will increase water storage capacity and lay conveyance pipeline to deliver reliable and safe drinking water and build resiliency for communities most impacted by drought.”
The five states that will receive funding for projects are Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana and Washington.
The Verde River Sediment Mitigation Study will receive $5 million to provide the federal cost share for conducting the Verde River Sedimentation feasibility study, which would identify alternatives to restore at least 46,000 acre-feet of water storage lost due to the accumulation of sediment at Horseshoe Reservoir; the B.F. Sisk Dam Raise and Reservoir Expansion Project will receive $25 million from the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Authority, to pursue the B.F. Sisk Dam Raise and Reservoir Expansion Project; the North of Delta Off Stream Storage (Sites Reservoir Project) will receive $30 million to pursue off-stream storage capable for up to 1.5 million acre-feet of water in the Sacramento River system located in the Coast mountains west of Maxwell, California; the Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion Phase II will receive $82 million to efficiently integrate approximately 115,000 acre-feet of additional storage through new conveyance facilities with existing facilities to allow Delta water supplies to be safely diverted, stored and delivered to beneficiaries; the Arkansas Valley Conduit will receive $60 million to continue the facilitation of supplying a safe, long-term water supply to an estimated 50,000 people in 40 rural communities along the Arkansas River; the Dry Redwater Regional Water System Feasibility Study will receive $3 million to provide the authorized federal cost-share for finishing the Dry Redwater Regional Water System Feasibility Study; and Cle Elum Pool Raise will receive $5 million to increase the reservoir’s capacity an additional 14,600 acre-feet to be managed for instream flows for fish.
