The Bureau of Reclamation has announced a $7 million investment for 82 small-scale water efficiency projects across the West.
The grants will support local community projects, including measuring water flow, automating water delivery, or lining canals. The funding is part of the WaterSMART program, which supports states, Tribes, and local entities as they plan for and implement actions to increase water supply through investments to modernize existing infrastructure and avoid potential water conflicts.
"Community-driven projects are at the heart of WaterSMART, and small investments can go a long way to support water supply and reliability," says Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton. "These water efficiency improvements are small, but when combined throughout the West, the projects play an important role in communities becoming more resilient to drought."
Projects in 14 western states were selected to receive funding. The projects range from Idaho's Island Ward Canal Company receiving $23,890 for their automated headgate installation to the City of Watford in North Dakota receiving $100,000 to add smart transmitters to 636 existing municipal water meters. Other examples of projects include:
The Belle Fouche Irrigation District in South Dakota will receive $99,542 to convert 3,600 feet of unlined canal into a buried pipeline. It will provide a more efficient and reliable water delivery system. It is part of the district's ongoing effort to upgrade and improve water storage.
The Elephant Butte Irrigation District in New Mexico will install motors on an existing check structure and construct a new metering station on the Leasburg Main Canal. The project will allow them to improve the control of diversion flow rates, upstream water pressure and downstream flow. In addition, it will accomplish priorities identified in the Lower Rio Grande Regional Water Plan and 2017 Regional Water Plan to maximize the benefit of the Rio Grande Project surface water.
The Moapa Valley Water District, northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, will receive $100,000 to upgrade 400 domestic meters with new meters and cellular endpoints for improved data analytics and water management. This project meets the district's goals of its water conservation plan and capital improvement plan.
More information on the projects is available at the Bureau of Reclamation’s webpage for small-scale water efficiency projects.
