Central Valley water canals will receive much-needed funding from federal allocations announced last week by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
California water infrastructure projects will receive $540 million for conveyance and storage improvements as part of $1 billion set aside in legislation passed last year to increase water storage capacity across the West.
Funding announced on March 17 includes the following:
• The Delta-Mendota Canal will receive $235 million to support rehabilitation of the upper canal, including raising canal embankments, repairing check structures and advancing potential construction of a new concrete-lined canal segment. The canal carries water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta south along the west edge of the San Joaquin Valley before crossing to the east and emptying into the San Joaquin River near the city of Mendota.
• The Friant-Kern Canal, serving farms and communities throughout the eastern San Joaquin Valley, will receive $200 million to help restore delivery capacity reduced by years of land subsidence. Several projects to achieve that goal are “shovel ready.”
• The San Luis Canal, located on the western side of the San Joaquin Valley, will receive $50 million to address subsidence issues affecting water delivery reliability.
• The Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority pumping plant will receive $15 million to increase flow rates and improve system performance. The 140-mile canal system served by the plant carries water from the Sacramento River to agricultural areas on the west side of the Sacramento Valley.
• Another $40 million is allocated for planning and preconstruction activities associated with raising Shasta Dam. If that project proceeds, it is estimated to increase the reservoir’s storage capacity by 634,000 acre-feet. The water districts say the project will increase water supply reliability during drought years; reduce regulatory restrictions by improving cold-water pools for fish; create economic stability for farms, rural communities and workers; and help sustain agricultural production.
Essential for Reliable Water
Repairing conveyance infrastructure is essential to maintaining the reliable water supplies that serve communities, recharge groundwater aquafers, and help make California the leading agricultural state in the nation.
A thriving agricultural sector benefits farmers, regional economies that depend on agricultural production, and every Californian who purchases products that are grown here.
