Calif. provides $1.2M for City of Caolinga water transfer

California’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced that it has awarded $1.2 million to the City of Coalinga for an emergency water transfer to supply the community through the winter months.

The City of Coalinga, Fresno County, had previously notified the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation that it could run out of water by December without additional supplies. In coordination with Reclamation, which supplies water to the city via the Central Valley Project, Coalinga was able to purchase 600 acre-feet of water for approximately $1.1 million from the Patterson Irrigation District.

To support the city, DWR is providing $1.2 million to cover the cost of the water purchase plu    s additional expenses through its Urban Community Drought Relief grant program. This funding will lessen financial strain on the city and provide water for the community through February 2023, when further allocations from Reclamation will be available.

“Funding from DWR’s drought relief grant programs is available for this exact purpose, to ensure that no one goes without water during this extended and extreme drought,” says DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “The State will continue to work with the city and other communities throughout the Central Valley and California to provide available grant funding opportunities for long-term water resilience projects as we adapt to a hotter, drier future.”

In October, DWR announced $300 million in available funding through the 2022 Urban Community Drought Relief Grant Program. The department says that applications are being accepted on a rolling basis and grant awards will be made in multiple phases. DWR expects to announce the second phase of awards later this fall.