Our Klamath Basin
Water Crisis
Upholding rural Americans' rights to grow food,
own property, and caretake our wildlife and natural resources.
California Receives $18 Million for
Agricultural Water Enhancement Projects
FRESNO, Calif., July 30 2009 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- 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 Tulare Enhance water supply by
Irrigation Irrigation implementing water
District District quality and quantity
measures. More
efficient irrigation
systems, from high to
low pressure systems $500,000
------ ----------- ----------------------- ---------
Lava Beds Lost River Improve irrigation
Butte Valley and Butte efficiency and nutrient
& Klamath Valley management, restore
County Soil Watersheds wetland habitat (60,000
and Water acres)
Conservation
District $250,000
------------- ----------- ----------------------- ---------
North Improving Focus on lowering water
Cal-Neva Water temperature, increasing
Resource Quality and dissolved oxygen, and
Conservation Quantity in reducing amount of
& the Upper nutrients entering the
Development Pit River. Pit River
Council $520,000
------------- ----------- ----------------------- --------
Sutter County Gilsizer Install 40 high
Resource Slough efficiency irrigation
Conservation systems (50% water
District saving); Adopt nutrient
and pest management
practices for 40
producers; Install 40
vegetative cover crops
and filter strips, etc. $1,150,000
------------- ----------- ----------------------- ----------
California Northern Increase the reliability
Land California of agriculture water
Stewardship Wine supply; Improve stream
Institute Country flow and water quality;
Agricultural Improve water use
Water efficiency, etc.
Conservation
and Water
Quality
Improvement $500,000
---------- ------------ ------------------------ --------
Coalition For Northern San Reduce sedimentation in
Urban/ Rural Joaquin waterways, pesticide
Environmental River Water and nutrient loading,
Stewardship Quality pathogen inputs, and
Partnership conserve water.
Approximately 550,000
acres require
treatment. $2,000,000
------------- ------------ ------------------------ ----------
Alameda Southern Reduction of
County Alameda contaminants entering
Resource Creek Ranch Calaveras Reservoir,
Conservation Water creeks, streams, and
District Quality San Francisco Bay
Project (64,000 acres, 25
producers) $40,000
------- ------------ ------------------------ -------
Western Western Improve wastewater
United United utilization systems.
Dairymen Dairymen Reduce potential
Project surface water runoff on
550,000 acres over a
three year period. $5,800,000
------- ------------ ------------------------ ----------
Westlands Westlands Increase seasonal
Water Water application efficiency;
District District Increase distribution
uniformity; Decrease
deep percolation;
Decrease the effects of
soil salinity. $2,000,000
--------- ------------ ------------------------ ----------
Yolo County Yolo County Increase irrigation
Resource efficiency, decrease
Conservation irrigation runoff,
District sediment delivery, and
improve ground water
quality for
approximately 40,000
acres. $1,000,000
----------- ------------ ------------------------ ----------
California Processing Improve irrigation
Association Tomato efficiency for 30
of Resource Irrigation producers on
Conservation Efficiency approximately 12,000
Districts Program acres in a 5 year
period. $120,187
---------- ------------ ------------------------ --------
Ventura Irrigation Evaluate effectiveness
County Efficiency of irrigation systems,
Resource Mobile - uniformity, pump
Conservation Implementation efficiency, energy
District Rebates usage, etc. $250,000
------------- -------------- ---------------------- --------
Kings River Kings River Improve irrigation
Conservation Conservation system efficiency,
District District micro-irrigation, tail
water recovery systems $1,500,000
------------- ------------ ---------------------- ----------
Hoopa Valley Hoopa Valley Upgrade open ditch
Public Utilities transmission lines with
Utilities Public efficient closed pipe
District and District system, install meters
the Klamath (monitoring, leaks)
Trinity
Resource
Conservation
District $638,592
------------- ------------ ------------------ --------
Central Coast Central Provide water quality
Resource Coast through reduced runoff
Conservation Irrigation and leaching of
& and nutrients, reduction of
Development Nutrient water usage.
Council Management $1,810,322
------------- ------------ ------------------------ ----------
TOTAL $18,079,101
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