California Ag Network

Tag: The California Department of Water Resources

  • Westlands Water District Awarded $1M for Groundwater Recharge & Flood Mitigation

    The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) awarded Westlands Water District (District), a $1,000,000 grant as part of DWR’s Flood Diversion Recharge (FDRE) Initiative. This grant will assist the State’s efforts to reduce flooding by increasing flood flow diversion volumes to recharge areas and expand local capacity to divert future flood waters. These efforts in turn reduce downstream flood impacts and facilitate groundwater recharge.

    “The District is committed to building a resilient water future for the San Joaquin Valley and our family farms,” said Allison Febbo, General Manager of Westlands Water District. “This grant will greatly assist us in clearing the way for flood diversion and support our ongoing groundwater recharge efforts as we navigate through climate-driven weather extremes and continued decline in reliable surface water supplies and work towards groundwater sustainability.”

    The grant will support the removal of 450 acres of orchards from land recently acquired by the District. Located in an area of the District identified as subsidence-prone, adjacent to the San Luis Canal, the cleared land will reduce demand for groundwater near critical infrastructure, improve the availability of surface water and sustainable groundwater allocation(s), provide the District with increased recharge capabilities, and provide a site to temporarily retain diverted floodwater when needed. The subject land is part of 5,340 acres acquired since 2022, including the removal of 1,930 acres of orchards and vines, at a total investment of over $58,000,000.

    Reducing groundwater demand, increasing surface water, and sustainable groundwater allocation(s) to other productive farmland, land repurposing, and groundwater recharge are all important measures identified in the Westside Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Plan. Diverting flood flows for groundwater recharge also protects downstream communities and infrastructure.

    About Westlands Water District

    Westlands Water District is recognized as a world leader in agricultural water conservation and has served the farmers and rural communities on the west side of Fresno and Kings counties for more than five decades. As stewards of one of California’s most precious natural resources, Westlands continually invests in conservation, and champions farmers deploying innovative irrigation methods based on the best available technology.

  • Westlands Water District Farmers Awarded $4 Million through LandFlex Program to Minimize Groundwater Footprint

    Close to 2,422 acre-feet of groundwater will remain in the aquifer of the Westside Subbasin thanks to a grant from The California Department of Water Resources (DWR). Farmers in the Westlands Water District Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA), which manages the groundwater in the Westside Subbasin, and three other GSAs were eligible to receive funding through the LandFlex Program(LandFlex).

    During the 2-week application window for the LandFlex program, farmers in Westlands submitted over 40 million dollars worth of projects, spanning 11,100 acres. Eight applications were selected to receive a total of $3,999,523 to implement their projects. The demand for the program led to an increase in available funds, to be distributed amongst the four GSAs, from an initial $12 million to $18 million. Priority was given to projects that would have a positive benefit on drinking water wells. Awarded funds will be used to promote water conservation and climate-resilient agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley by limiting agricultural groundwater use.

    “We’d like to extend our sincere congratulations to the 8 farms awarded LandFlex grants and appreciation to DWR for providing these funds,” said Allison Febbo, General Manager, Westlands Water District. “Forty-five eligible farmers in Westlands submitted applications for LandFlex grant funding – underscoring the importance of investment in programs that support our farmers’ commitment to improving our region’s climate resilience by implementing practices that promote a sustainable groundwater supply.”

    LandFlex incentivizes growers to permanently reduce pressure on aquifers and transition to sustainable farming practices by providing grant funding for the following actions:

    ·       Provide Immediate Drought Relief by Fallowing Land
    ·       Overdraft/Sustainability Payment
    ·       Transition to More Climate-Resilient Ag Practices

    The application period for the LandFlex program opened on June 14th and closed on June 28th. Farmers in GSAs submitted their applications and were evaluated per DWR’s guidelines and GSA-specific priorities. Grant recipients plan to use the funding for permanent crop removal and groundwater recharge.

    Febbo added, “The District is committed to working with our farmers and District communities on implementing projects and programs including groundwater recharge and land repurposing that both provide for a sustainable groundwater supply and maximize the benefits of the land.”

    You can learn more about the LandFlex program here.

    About Westlands Water District

    Westlands Water District is recognized as a world leader in agricultural water conservation and has served the farmers and rural communities on the west side of Fresno and Kings counties for more than seven decades. As stewards of one of California’s most precious natural resources, Westlands continually invests in conservation and champions farmers deploying innovative irrigation methods based on the best available technology.

  • Groundwater Sustainably and Protection of Vulnerable Domestic Wells

    The California Department of Water Resources, Western United Dairies Foundation, Almond Alliance, Self-Help Enterprises, and the Community Alliance with Family Farmers have introduced LandFlex. This solutions-based program assists vulnerable communities in solving the groundwater crisis related to the drought by protecting domestic wells through preventative fallowing, relieving supply pressures, and providing water supply certainty to critically over-drafted basins.

    “Farmers, underrepresented communities and Groundwater Sustainability Agencies share a common interest in the immediate ending of groundwater overdraft on lands near vulnerable drinking water wells,” said Anja Raudabaugh, Chief Executive Officer of Western United Dairies. “The LandFlex program is a pilot program providing farmers the flexibility to manage their land through the drought and to provide water security for rural communities.”

    The LandFlex program reduces groundwater demand by contracting with farmers to rotationally and temporarily fallow ground in areas deeply dependent on groundwater for domestic well supplies. The price paid per acre-foot of water savings is prioritized based on the enrolled lands’ proximity to domestic wells coupled with the lands’ existing subsidence levels. A crop’s evapotranspiration will be based on local average GSA data.

    “LandFlex provides during a fallowing and drought crisis to conserve and leave water in the ground to stabilize aquifers and allow our farmers to stay in operation and have operating capital on a voluntary and annual basis while supporting our communities and ensuring a secure food supply for next year,” said Aubrey Bettencourt, Chief Executive Officer of the Almond Alliance.

    Grant awards will be prioritized on lands experiencing the most severe subsidence due to groundwater depletion and on areas closest to domestic wells that have recently gone dry.

    For more information on LandFlex, and to sign up for program updates, visit: https://landflex.org

  • DWR Allocates Funds for Delta-Mendota Canal Repairs

    The California Department of Water Resources signed an agreement to award $3.3 million in funding to the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority to repair segments of the Delta-Mendota Canal (DMC) in the San Joaquin Valley that have been damaged by land subsidence.

    The Delta-Mendota Canal, which conveys water over 116 miles from its headworks in Byron to its outlet in Mendota, plays a critical role in delivering water to 1.2 million acres of farmland in the San Joaquin, San Benito, and Santa Clara valleys. It also delivers water to more than 2 million Californians and approximately 150,000 acres of managed wetlands important to the Pacific Flyway.

    The Delta-Mendota Canal is one of four projects that will receive funds as part of a $100 million initiative in the California Budget Act of 2021 to improve water conveyance systems in the San Joaquin Valley. DWR is also working on agreements for projects on the San Luis Canal and the California Aqueduct, and recently announced the release of funds for repairs of the Friant-Kern Canal.

    “Investing in water infrastructure and restoring key water conveyance systems to protect California’s water supply is crucial to climate resiliency,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “With California in a third year of drought, this local, federal and state collaboration is an important step to improving California’s water system.”

    The state-funded program, which aligns with Governor Newsom’s Water Resilience Portfolio to improve water quality and supplies for California, is part of a cooperative approach to fixing California’s water conveyance infrastructure pursued by local, state, and federal agencies.

    “This initial funding award is a positive step forward to begin to mitigate the impacts of subsidence on the Delta-Mendota Canal,” said Federico Barajas, executive director of the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority.

    “We appreciate the leadership and commitment demonstrated by the Newsom Administration, our Congressional and California Legislative delegations, and the Authority member agencies, to advance this project to increase water resilience to the communities and ecosystems served by the water delivered through the Delta-Mendota Canal.”

    To receive program funding, participants must show proof of adequate non-state cost share to match the State financial assistance. Program funds will be used to pay for planning, permitting, design, and construction of near-term subsidence rehabilitation projects, such as raising canal embankments or repairing check structures. Agencies with funded projects will need to investigate the risk of subsidence and how to prevent continued subsidence.

    An additional $100 million in funding is slated for the coming fiscal year.

    Subsidence is a long-term issue for water conveyance systems that has been exacerbated by recent droughts. If not addressed, continued subsidence will further reduce the water delivery capacity of regional canals and aqueducts and increase the costs for remediation.

    About Us:

    The San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority was established in January of 1992 and consists of 27 member agencies within the western San Joaquin, San Benito, and Santa Clara Valleys, that provide water service to approximately 1,200,000 acres of irrigated agriculture, 2.5 million people, including many living in economically disadvantaged communities, and 130,000 acres of managed wetlands of importance to the Pacific Flyway.

    San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority SLDMWA.ORG