The Governor Gavin Newsom The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced an $8.5 billion investment to conserve, store and deliver more water to communities across the state, and announced $288 million for drought and flood projects in California to help meet water goals.
The Department of Water Resources (DWR), through its Urban Community Drought Relief Grant program, has awarded more than $217 million to 44 projects that will help communities strengthen their resilience to drought and better prepare for future dry conditions.
That, the governor said, will help advance efforts outlined in the strategy to adapt California's water supply to the prospects of a warmer, drier future.
Investments focus on flood risk management and groundwater recharge, improving water supply reliability, water recycling, and water conservation and landscape transformation.
In San Joaquin County, the Stockton East Water District will receive $12.2 million to divert water from the New Hogan Reservoir for groundwater recharge and drinking water purposes.
Meanwhile, in Fresno County, the City of Fresno will receive $5.2 million to make improvements to the existing Leaky Acres Basin to maximize surface water capture during flood events.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works will receive $10.5 million to strengthen and remove sediment from the Santa Anita Dam, providing additional storage capacity for groundwater recharge downstream at the Santa Anita Spreading Grounds.
The project will increase the county's stormwater recharge capacity by adding more than 2,000 acre-feet of new stormwater resources to the groundwater basin annually.
In Ventura County, the Casitas Municipal Water District will receive $3.6 million to develop a deep extraction well to provide approximately 8,000 additional acre-feet per year of new water supply. Additionally, in Santa Clara County, the City of Morgan Hill will receive $4 million to construct a new 850,000-gallon above-ground steel water supply reservoir.
In Santa Cruz County, the San Lorenzo Valley Water District will receive $4.5 million to replace nine leaking water storage tanks with six fire-rated steel tanks, significantly increasing the district's current storage capacity from 160,000 to 720,000 gallons.
In Fresno County, the Fresno Unified School District will receive $540,000 to support two projects benefiting a local elementary and middle school to irrigate with recycled water. In Alameda County, the Zone 7 Water Agency will receive $300,000 to build an automated, self-serve recycled water filling station to provide a year-round, permanent water source for irrigation and other uses for many residents with extended business hours.
In Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will receive $4.5 million to upgrade the Dominguez Gap seawater intrusion barrier to use 100 percent recycled water.
Additionally, in San Bernardino County, the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District will receive $2.6 million to install water-efficient fixtures in single-family and multi-family homes in selected disadvantaged community areas to improve indoor water efficiency.
The district will also replace turf with drought-tolerant landscaping in homeowner association areas and mobile home parks to reduce outdoor water use.
In Stanislaus County, the City of Modesto will receive $2.3 million to replace 17.79 acres of nonfunctional turf with drought-tolerant landscaping in 21 parks for an estimated water savings of more than 54 acre-feet per year.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California will receive $30 million to implement a turf replacement program available to all of its member agencies serving a total of 19 million Californians, and will save up to 4,050 acre-feet of water per year by converting approximately 30 million square feet of nonfunctional turf to water-efficient landscaping.
Additionally, in May, the Administration dedicated $71 million to address drinking water shortages, species protection, and populations particularly affected by drought.
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