WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Reclamation has selected 54 projects to share $40.99 million in WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grants to help projects use water more efficiently and effectively in the western United States. Three projects located in Washington will receive a total of $1.5 million.

“The WaterSMART Program is helping Reclamation address the West’s water challenges,” said Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman. “Water and Energy Efficiency Grants provide water districts and communities the needed assistance to modernize their water delivery infrastructure and increase hydropower generation.”

Projects are located in California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. The types of projects receiving funding include canal lining, advanced water metering, flow measurement and real-time monitoring of water deliveries, and pressurized irrigation systems.

Project receiving funding in Washington

Water and Energy Efficiency projects are selected to receive funding through a competitive process. The following projects were selected in Washington:

Kittitas Reclamation District, South Branch Canal Efficiency Project. Reclamation Funding: $975,000; Total Project Cost: $1,950,000. The Kittitas Reclamation District located near Yakima, Washington, will install 4,637 feet of double-barrel 60-inch, steel-reinforced polyethylene pipe on the existing earthen South Branch Canal.  The project is expected to result in annual water savings of 515 acre-feet currently lost to seepage and operational spills. The water conserved through the project will be delivered to Manastash Creek for in-stream flows to benefit threatened species, including Coho and Chinook salmon. The project is consistent with a memorandum of agreement between Reclamation, the Washington Department of Ecology, and the District to address water management issues in over-appropriated or flow-impaired tributaries to the upper Yakima River.

City of Leavenworth, City of Leavenworth Advanced Metering Infrastructure Project. Reclamation Funding: $300,000; Total Project Cost: $975,000. The City of Leavenworth, located in central Washington, will upgrade 1,400 existing manual-read primarily residential water meters with an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) system.The AMI system will provide the City with real-time data to detect distribution system losses and unusual or continuous usage patterns. By improving metering accuracy, the project is expected to result in annual water savings of 22 acre-feet, which will remain in Icicle Creek.

       Quincy-Columbia Basin Irrigation District, West Canal Lining. Reclamation Funding: $300,000; Total Project Cost: $833,264.  The Quincy-Columbia Basin Irrigation District, located in central Washington, will line 2,500 feet of the earthen West Canal with a geotextile liner covered with concrete to address seepage losses.  The project advances the goals of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the three Columbia Basin Project irrigation districts, the Washington State Department of Ecology, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Bureau of Reclamation, where the parties have agreed to address regional water reliability concerns including drought, groundwater issues, and improved stream flows to assist salmon recovery. The project is expected to result in annual water savings of 850 acre-feet that is currently lost to seepage. The water conserved will be used to meet actions identified in the MOU, including offsetting groundwater pumping and enhancing flows in the Columbia River.

Follow the link to learn more about all of the selected projects.