Water Conservation Grants Awarded In Pacific Northwest

Posted by Lauren María Alexander|May 26, 2015

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has awarded 17 Water Conservation Field Services Program (WCFSP) grants in the Pacific Northwest Region, ranging from $11,940 to $25,000. The program provides technical and financial assistance to encourage water conservation on reclamation projects by assisting irrigation districts to develop and implement water conservation plans, and to foster improved water management.

The grants require a 50% or better cost-share. Eligible activities include water management planning, such as updating or developing a water conservation plan, implementing water conservation projects — piping and lining canals, and installing water measurement and automating gates. Examples of 2015 funding recipients include:

Riverside Irrigation District in Parma, ID, will design, purchase, and install an automated water control gate and related operation and control equipment at the Centennial Park site near Caldwell, ID. This improvement is on the Boise Project in Idaho and will save an estimated 1,400 acre-feet of water per year. Reclamation will provide $25,000 toward a total project cost of $67,869.

Roza Irrigation District in Sunnyside, WA, will reduce canal seepage by sealing 900 feet of the Roza Main Canal. Conserved water will remain in the Yakima River to augment instream flows. This improvement is estimated to conserve 39 acre-feet of water annually. Reclamation will provide $25,000 toward this $51,589 project.

North Unit Irrigation District in Madras, OR, will construct a ramp flume in the North Unit Main Canal immediately downstream from both the outlet of Haystack Dam and the Haystack bypass channel. Improved water measurement will allow the District to fully automate releases from Haystack Reservoir resulting in a water savings of up to 3,571 acre feet per year. Reclamation will provide $25,000 toward the total project cost of $115,958.

To learn more about the Water Conservation Field Services Program visit: http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/wat/. For information on the WCFSP application process and award process and criteria click here.

Source: Bureau of Reclamation news release