Rep. Calvert Helps Secure More Than $75 Million For Local Water Supply and Flood Control Projects
Rep. Calvert Helps Secure More Than $75 Million For Local Water Supply and Flood Control Projects
Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill Includes Funding for Local Projects and CALFED Program
WASHINGTON DC, -- Yesterday, the Conference Report to the Fiscal Year 2006 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act was completed and filed. The House of Representatives is expected to approve the Conference Report later this week. This legislation includes funding for civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation, most of the Department of Energy, and a number of independent agencies.
"Over the past year all Americans were reminded about the importance of flood control projects" said Rep. Calvert. "Southern Californians witnessed a historic rainy season this past winter and it is vital that our local flood control projects be completed in a timely manner. We must also continue to invest in projects that increase our water supply. This legislation funds a number of significant projects that will provide Californians with safe, reliable, and clean water."
The following local projects were supported by Rep. Calvert:
* $61,650,000 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers construction of the Santa Ana River Mainstem Project which includes the Prado Dam. This is a major regional flood control project that will protect over 3 million people living and working in the floodplain.
* $288,000 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers beach nourishment project in San Clemente. These funds will be used to complete the feasibility study and begin preconstruction and design of the project.
* $100,000 for planning and engineering activities for the Riverside-Corona Feeder water project, which will consist of 20 wells and 28 miles of pipeline and will manage the ground water levels through new pumping capacity that will deliver new water supply.
* $250,000 for the San Juan Creek watershed feasibility study of flood control, ecosystem restoration, water quality, water supply solutions, and riding and hiking trails for the lower portion of the San Juan Creek watershed.
* $2,250,000 for the Groundwater Replenishment System in Orange County. This purification project takes highly treated wastewater currently sent to the ocean by the Orange County Sanitation District and through advanced treatment with micro-filtration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet light with hydrogen peroxide treatment, produces near-distilled quality water.
* $169,000 for the Orange County Special Area Management Plan (SAMP) for San Diego Creek, San Juan Creek, and San Mateo Creek. This planning effort will integrate aquatic resources into existing and developing multi-species habitat conservation plans.
* $550,000 for flood control upgrades along Heacock and Cactus Channels. Flooding from these channels spills onto neighborhood roads and causes such significant erosion that roads are threatened with undermining. The flooding also impacts roads and facilities on March Air Reserve Base.
* $5,000,000 for the Upper Newport Bay ecosystem restoration project. The Upper Newport Bay, a 752 acre ecological preserve, is one of the largest coastal wetlands in Southern California. The project will restore this habitat and prevent future widespread degradation of the preserve in the future.
* $3,750,000 for the continued construction of the Murrieta Creek Flood Control Project. This project was designed in response to a significant flood event in 1993 that resulted in over $12 million in damages. The project is a key component of the economic development, environmental restoration, and recreational activities in our region.
* $1,000,000 for the development of the Inland Empire Regional Water Recycling Project. This project is one of the largest water recycling projects in the nation and will annually provide 95,000 acre-feet of high quality recycled water for outdoor irrigation, industrial reuse and groundwater recharge.
* $350,000 to continue the ongoing Aliso Creek Mainstem study to examine channel stability and environmental restoration. Channel degradation and flood damage along the mainstem of Aliso Creek and some of its tributaries has cause severe environmental degradation.
CALFED
The purpose of the California Bay-Delta account is to fund the federal share of water supply and reliability improvements, ecosystem improvements and other activities being developed for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and associated watersheds by a State and Federal partnership (CALFED). In 2005, the CALFED Bay-Delta Authorization Act was enacted (P.L. 108-361), authored by Rep. Ken Calvert. This legislation authorized federal appropriations for fiscal year 2005 through fiscal year 2010.
"Thanks to the reauthorization of CALFED, Congress can now provide long overdue funds for the federal participation in CALFED," said Rep. Calvert. "While CALFED continues to face a number of challenges, it is crucial that the federal government play an active role."
The Energy & Water Appropriations bill provides $37 million in direct spending for the CALFED Bay-Delta Program in fiscal year 2006, nearly four times the amount spent last year. California water agencies are applauding the funding as key to keeping important projects for environmental, water supply, flood control and water quality moving forward.
The funding is divided into the following programs:
* $11.5 million for storage program feasibility studies
* $8.8 million for the Environmental Water Account
* $4.8 million for conveyance
* $500,000 for planning and management
* $5.9 million for water use efficiency
* $2.5 million for ecosystem restoration in the Sacramento River Small Diversion Fish Screen Program
* $1 million for interagency ecological science program
The bill also provides $500,000 for a CALFED 180 Day Study to determine the levee stability reconstruction projects and priorities that will be carried out through 2010. This study, as well as the projects it will prioritize, was authorized by Rep. Calvert's CALFED legislation.
http://calvert.house.gov/pressreleases.asp?ARTICLE4024=10196