The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced yesterday that it is investing $21 million to help farmers and ranchers conserve water and build drought resilience in their communities.
The funds come as part of the department’s Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) collaboration with the Department of Interior’s (DOI) WaterSMART Initiative.
The investments are intended to complement projects by irrigation districts, water suppliers and other organizations receiving WaterSMART Program funds from the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation. NRCS coordinates with Reclamation to accelerate water conservation and drought resilience and making a bigger impact where it is most needed.
“Reclamation's collaboration with NRCS maximizes each agency’s investment in tackling conservation and building drought resiliency in the West,” said DOI Bureau of Reclamation Deputy Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton. “Earlier this year, Reclamation awarded $42.4 million to 55 WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Projects to support on-the-ground improvements to conserve water and build resilience to drought. Many of the projects announced by NRCS today will complement existing WaterSMART projects, maximizing the benefits of each agency’s conservation programs.”
In fiscal year 2022, NRCS will invest in 15 new priority areas and 25 existing priority areas with continued need, assisting producers and communities in 13 states across the West. NRCS is providing the funding through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
New WaterSmart Priority Areas
The 15 new priority areas include:
- California (Funding amount: $1,160,000)
- Eastern Municipal Water District Area (Riverside)
- McMullen Area (Fresno)
- Idaho (Funding amount: $3,417,000)
- King Hill Irrigation District (Elmore)
- Preston East Lateral Area (Franklin)
- St. John East Lateral Area (Oneida)
- Twin Falls Service Area (Twin Falls)
- Nevada (Funding amount: $500,000)
- Truckee-Carson Irrigation District (Churchill)
- New Mexico (Funding amount: $470,000)
- Bloomfield Irrigation District (San Juan)
- Fort Sumner Irrigation District (De Baca)
- Oklahoma (Funding amount: $100,000)
- Blue River Watershed District (Johnston)
- Utah (Funding amount: $1,500,000)
- North & South Litz Lateral (Cache)
- Washington (Funding amount: $1,900,000)
- Kittitas Reclamation District (Kittitas)
- Whitestone Reclamation District (Okanogan)
- Wyoming (Funding amount: $780,000)
- Heart Mountain Irrigation District (Park)
- Lovell Irrigation District (Big Horn)
In total, there are 46 active projects for delivering WaterSMART assistance.
How WaterSMART Works
Through the WaterSMART Initiative, funds are allocated to targeted areas for eligible participants to enter contracts. Each WaterSMART Initiative project area is carrying out different phases of program delivery at the same time— funding, implementation and evaluation.
NRCS and Reclamation, the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power, have been coordinating EQIP and WaterSMART investments since 2011, the effort began as a pilot in California.
This federal collaboration works to provide states, Tribes, local water management entities, and water users alike with coordinated resources to plan and implement actions which balance water supply and demand through modernizing existing infrastructure, improving agricultural landscapes to conserve water resources and bringing attention to local water conflicts.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Agriculture
