$150,000 to Sacramento County Water Recycling Projects Following Congressman Garamendi Letter to Department of Interior

Press Release

Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA), a Member of the House Natural Resources Committee and former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior, today is happy to announce that the Bureau of Reclamation awarded $150,000 to two worthy Sacramento County water recycling projects through the WaterSMART program. The grants were awarded after Congressman Garamendi sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar supporting the projects (text of the letter is included below).

"California simply does not presently have enough available water to meet the needs of everyone in the state. We must invest in American-made water recycling -- along with conservation and additional storage -- and that's why I'm excited by these projects," Congressman Garamendi said. "These projects bring us one step closer to saving the Delta while meeting the needs of all California cities, farmers, and fishermen."

The grants will provide funding for the following projects:

* $75,000 to the SRCSD, Sacramento Power Authority, City of Sacramento Recycled Water Project Feasibility Study. The federal funding will match $240,000 in local funding. This project will evaluate the feasibility of replacing up to 4,200 acre-feet annually of surface and groundwater supplies with recycled water for industrial uses and to irrigate parks, school grounds, golf courses and landscaped street medians.

* $75,000 to the SRCSD South Sacramento County Agriculture and Habitat Lands Recycled Water Project Feasibility Study. The federal funding will match $678,000 in local funding. The project will evaluate the feasibility of replacing up to 97,000 acre-feet annually of surface and groundwater supplies with recycled water to irrigate up to 27,000 acres of permanent agriculture, habitat mitigation and conservation lands in south Sacramento County.

Secretary Salazar established WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America's Resources for Tomorrow) in February 2010 to facilitate the work of Interior's bureaus in pursuing a sustainable water supply for the nation. The program establishes a framework to provide federal leadership and assistance on the efficient use of water and integrating water and energy policies to support the sustainable use of all natural resources. Since its establishment in 2010, WaterSMART has provided more than $118 million in competitively-awarded funding to non-federal partners, including tribes, water districts, municipalities, and universities through WaterSMART Grants and the Title XVI Program.

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