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California Receives $18 Million for Agricultural Water
Enhancement Projects
Contact:
Brian Ziegler (559) 252-2191, ex. 117
FRESNO, Calif., July 30, 2009–Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief
Dave White announced today that 15 organizations in California will receive
funding from a new program under the 2008 Farm Bill that will help improve water
quality and quantity. The funding is being made available through the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's new Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP).
"AWEP is a voluntary conservation initiative that provides financial and
technical assistance to farmers and ranchers to improve water conditions on
their agricultural land," said White. Nationwide, nearly $58 million will be
used to fund 63 AWEP projects in 21 states.
AWEP is a newly-established part of the Environmental Quality Incentives
Program (EQIP), a program administered by NRCS. The difference in AWEP projects
is that applications for project funding are made directly to the U.S. Secretary
of Agriculture from an organization on behalf of a group of agricultural
producers who intend to make water improvements in a geographic area.
"This is welcome news to the 15 conservation, irrigation, and tribal partners
who are working on these projects to help manage California’s priceless water
resources," said Gayle Norman, Acting NRCS State Conservationist in California.
Applications from individual agricultural producers within a given AWEP
project area are ranked according to the conservation resource need. Producers
whose applications are selected enter into individual contracts with NRCS.
Approved California AWEP Projects are:
| Organization |
Project |
Description |
2009 Award |
| Tulare Irrigation District |
Tulare Irrigation District |
Enhance water supply by implementing water quality and quantity measures.
More efficient irrigation systems, from high to low pressure systems |
$500,000 |
| Lava Beds Butte Valley & Klamath County Soil and Water Conservation District |
Lost River and Butte Valley Watersheds |
Improve irrigation efficiency and nutrient
management, restore wetland habitat (60,000 acres) |
$250,000 |
| North Cal-Neva Resource Conservation & Development Council |
Improving Water Quality and Quantity in the Upper Pit River. |
Focus on lowering water temperature, increasing dissolved oxygen, and
reducing amount of nutrients entering the Pit River |
$520,000 |
| Sutter County Resource Conservation District |
Gilsizer Slough |
Install 40 high efficiency irrigation systems (50% water saving); Adopt
nutrient and pest management practices for 40 producers; Install 40
vegetative cover crops and filter strips, etc. |
$1,150,000 |
| California Land Stewardship Institute |
Northern California Wine Country Agricultural Water Conservation and Water
Quality Improvement |
Increase the reliability of agriculture water supply; Improve stream flow
and water quality; Improve water use efficiency, etc. |
$500,000 |
| Coalition For Urban/ Rural Environmental Stewardship |
Northern San Joaquin River Water Quality Partnership |
Reduce sedimentation in waterways, pesticide and nutrient loading, pathogen
inputs, and conserve water. Approximately 550,000 acres require treatment. |
$2,000,000 |
| Alameda County Resource Conservation District |
Southern Alameda Creek Ranch Water Quality Project |
Reduction of contaminants entering Calaveras Reservoir, creeks, streams, and
San Francisco Bay (64,000 acres, 25 producers) |
$40,000 |
| Western United Dairymen |
Western United Dairymen Project |
Improve wastewater utilization systems. Reduce potential surface water
runoff on 550,000 acres over a three year period. |
$5,800,000 |
| Westlands Water District |
Westlands Water District |
Increase seasonal application efficiency; Increase distribution uniformity;
Decrease deep percolation; Decrease the effects of soil salinity |
$2,000,000 |
| Yolo County Resource Conservation District |
Yolo County |
Increase irrigation efficiency, decrease irrigation runoff, sediment
delivery, and improve ground water quality for approximately 40,000 acres |
$1,000,000 |
| California Association of Resource Conservation Districts |
Processing Tomato Irrigation Efficiency Program |
Improve irrigation efficiency for 30 producers on approximately 12,000 acres
in a 5 year period. |
$120,187 |
| Ventura County Resource Conservation District |
Irrigation Efficiency Mobile - Implementation Rebates |
Evaluate effectiveness of irrigation systems, uniformity, pump
efficiency, energy usage, etc. |
$250,000 |
| Kings River Conservation District |
Kings River Conservation District |
Improve irrigation system efficiency, micro-irrigation, tail water recovery systems |
$1,500,000 |
| Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District and the Klamath Trinity Resource
Conservation District |
Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District |
Upgrade open ditch transmission lines with efficient closed pipe system,
install meters (monitoring, leaks) |
$638,592 |
| Central Coast Resource Conservation & Development Council |
Central Coast Irrigation and Nutrient Management |
Provide water quality through reduced runoff and leaching of nutrients,
reduction of water usage. |
$1,810,322 |
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TOTAL |
$18,079,101 |
For more information on the project goals and boundaries,
contact your local NRCS field office. For a listing of offices statewide see
http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?state=CA
-NRCS-
The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides
leadership in a partnership effort to help people
conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment.
An Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer
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