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Fresno Business Journal: Water districts receive project funding

May 8, 2012

Rep. Jim Costa, D-CA, has announced a $5.3 million award for five Central Valley water districts to improve efficiency in water delivery, storage and management.

Four of the five are in Central California: Tulare Irrigation District, Firebaugh Canal Water District, Central California Irrigation District and Henry Miller Reclamation District. The fifth is Rancho California Water District in Southern California.

The funds were part of a cooperative program between the agencies of the Department of the Interior and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Tulare Irrigation District will receive $467,200 in Phase II reclamation funding to install flow measurement and automated delivery devices at the head-works of Packwood Creek, Evans Canal and the regulating basins within the district.

Firebaugh Canal Water District will receive $500,000 in reclamation funding for a second lift canal lining project, phase III. The project will allow concrete lining of 2.2 miles of earthen canal to prevent seepage and eliminate high sediment loads in delivered water.

Central California Irrigation District will receive $1 million in reclamation funds for its East Ditch Reservoir and Santa Rita Canal Reservoir Project. The project will include two regulating reservoirs to capture operational spills and drain water from canals.

The reservoirs will provide mid-stream storage to hold the capture water and release it back into the irrigation system as needed.

Henry Miller Reclamation District will receive $117,532 in reclamation funding for its Lower Arroyo Canal Modernization Project. The project includes installation of five long crested weirs on the Lower Arroyo Canal. The weirs precisely control canal water levels and help prevent system spills.

Costa said the funding would ensure more efficient use of water in the agricultural areas. "Every day our farmers work to make sure they make good use of available water," Costa said. "These funds will help our water districts get that water to users more reliably and efficiently."

He said the grants are one more step toward meeting the Valley's short- and long-term water needs.