President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to Provide $25.5 Million for Water Efficiency Projects in Eight Western States

Investments will fund water efficiency and drought resilience projects in California, Colorado, Idaho, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming

06/21/2022
Last edited 02/07/2024

Date: Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Contact: Interior_Press@ios.doi.gov

WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior today announced $25.5 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds for WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grants to safeguard local water supplies in the face of severe western drought. 

Fourteen projects in eight western states will be awarded funding to help local communities improve water use efficiency by lining canals, upgrading water meters, installing automated gates to control water flow and making other infrastructure improvements. The projects are anticipated to save more than 12 billion gallons of water annually – enough to fill over roughly 880,000 swimming pools–through reductions in residential water use and improvements to increase irrigation efficiency. Two of the projects will also receive funding for solar energy installations to power the affiliated water facility and water district buildings. Including non-federal funding contributions, the projects represent more than $130 million in water management improvements. 

"Through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are making a historic investment in drought resilience and water infrastructure to help more families, farmers and Tribes gain access to clean water," said Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Tanya Trujillo. “The WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grants will help communities conserve and use water more efficiency, increase the production of hydropower and help us tackle historic drought.” 

"Delivering water more efficiently is key to helping Western communities become more resilient to drought. These community-led projects are an example of how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law supports our work to minimize drought impacts and develop long-term solutions to facilitate water conservation and economic growth." said Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton. "These grants represent a once in a generation opportunity to meet the long-term adaptation for drought and a changing climate." 

President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocates $8.3 billion for Bureau of Reclamation water infrastructure projects to repair aging water delivery systems, secure dams, complete rural water projects, protect aquatic ecosystems and fulfill Indian Water Rights Settlements. The funding announced today is part of the $160 million in WaterSMART grants provided by the Law in 2022. Local governments in eight states set to receive funding must complete their project within three years. 

The projects selected are:

Recipient 

State 

Title 

Federal Funding 

City of Corona 

CA 

Advanced Metering Infrastructure Program 

$2 million 

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California 

CA 

Regional Public Agency Turf Replacement Program 

$2 million 

North Kern Water Storage District 

CA 

Calloway Canal Lining 

$2 million 

City of Rialto 

CA 

Advanced Metering Infrastructure Implementation Project 

$2 million 

Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency 

CA 

Automated Metering Infrastructure Project (Phase 1) 

$2 million 

Sutter Mutual Water Company 

CA 

Irrigation Efficiency Upgrades and Water Savings SCADA and Automated Water Delivery Systems 

$1 million 

City of Greeley 

CO 

Greeley AMI Meter Installation Project 

$2 million 

North Side Pumping Company 

ID 

Pumping Plant Elimination and Canal Abandonment Project 

$2 million 

City of Norman/Norman Utilities Authority 

OK 

Norman Utilities Authority Advanced Metering Infrastructure Implementation Project 

$2 million 

El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1 

TX 

Riverside Canal Concrete Lining Project (Phase IV) 

$1 million 

Davis & Weber Counties Canal Company 

UT 

Canal Enclosure and Solar Energy Project 

$1.5 million 

Weber Basin Water Conservancy District 

UT 

Upper Willard Canal Lining Project (Phase 8) 

$2 million 

Kennewick Irrigation District 

WA 

2022 Canal Lining and Water Conservation Project 

$2 million 

Owl Creek Irrigation District 

WY 

Owl Creek Irrigation District Water Delivery and Efficiency Improvement Project 

$2 million 

For more than 100 years, Reclamation and its partners have developed sustainable water and power solutions for the West. This funding is part of the Department of the Interior's WaterSMART Program, which focuses on collaborative efforts to plan and implement actions to increase water supply sustainability, including investments to modernize infrastructure.

Find out more information, including details about other current opportunities to apply for funding available under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, on Reclamation's WaterSMART program webpage.

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