Published 1:00 pm Thursday, April 6, 2023
YUMA, Ariz. — The federal government is awarding $585 million for water projects in 11 Western states to upgrade aging infrastructure and improve drought resilience.
Funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021, and will go to 83 projects in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Camille Touton, commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, said the projects were identified “through a rigorous process.”
“As we manage through changing climate, we must look to the safety of our projects to ensure that we can continue to provide clean, reliable water to communities, irrigators and ecosystems across the West,” Touton said.
Tommy Beaudreau, deputy secretary for the Department of the Interior, said the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is “making a historic investment to provide clean, reliable water to families, farmers and tribes.”
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated $8.3 billion for water infrastructure projects over five years, such as modernizing irrigation systems, improving dam safety, expanding hydro power generation and protecting aquatic ecosystems.
The $585 million follows $240 million that was allocated through the law in fiscal year 2022. The next application period will be in October.
California alone accounts for more than half the funding, with 24 projects adding up to $307.77 million.
Twelve of those projects are in Reclamation’s Central Valley Project, which spans 400 miles and supplies water for 250 contractors in 29 counties — including an annual average of 5 million acre-feet for farms.
Within the Central Valley Project, $10 million will be spent to modernize the fish hatchery at Nimbus Dam, $14.74 million will go to refurbishing 750 tube valves at Shasta Dam and $42.25 million will be used to replace transformers that power pumps moving water from the Trinity River into the Sacramento River, among other initiatives.
A full list of projects can be found here.
The largest single award is $65.9 million to modernize the Trinity River fish hatchery.
Another $8.75 million is also heading to the Klamath Project straddling the southern Oregon and northern California border for work on the A and C canals.
Part of the funding will help the Klamath Irrigation District study piping 9 miles of the A Canal to better conserve water. The A Canal is the main artery that delivers water from Upper Klamath Lake to the project, spanning roughly 200,000 acres of irrigated farmland.
Oregon has four projects that will receive a little more than $12.9 million.
The largest of these is $10 million to fix or replace fish screens at the headworks of the North Unit Irrigation District’s main canal in Bend. Screens are needed to ensure the district won’t harm endangered species in its canals.
Other projects include:
• $2.2 million to build a surge tank at the Mill Creek Water Treatment Plant in The Dalles.
• $703,000 for the Hermiston Irrigation District to remove and replace a footbridge that provides access to the upstream-most outlet works gatehouse at Cold Springs Dam.
• $60,000 for the West Extension Irrigation District in Umatilla to provide concrete panels and Geo-Foam lining for its main canal.
Washington has two projects that will receive funding, including $4.125 million to replace approximately 1,500 linear feet of the West Canal within Reclamation’s Columbia Basin Project.
The project is intended to halt water seepage that has been observed for years, which begins to flow shortly after the Quincy Columbia Basin Irrigation District fills the West Canal, according to the agency.
Not only will the project conserve water, but ti will also protect homes downstream from damage and ensure uninterrupted water delivery for 680,000 irrigated acres in eastern Washington.
The second project will send $3 million to the Roza Irrigation District near Yakima for fish screen improvements.
In Idaho, three projects will receive funding — all within Reclamation’s Boise Project. They include:
• $4 million to line 6 miles of the New York Canal between the Boise Avenue and Orchard Street intersection.
• $2 million to rehabilitate the Crown Point Trail at Lake Cascade State Park, also part of the Boise Project.
• $80,000 for maintenance work at Black Canyon Diversion Dam, including repairing the coating system, areas of substantial pitting and deteriorated rivets within the dam’s hydro pumps.
