Part III of the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement (SJRRS) Act authorizes and directs the Secretary to conduct additional Water Management Goal actions, including a program to provide financial assistance to local agencies within the Central Valley Project for the purposes of designing and constructing ground water recharge or banking facilities that offset water supply impacts to Friant Contractors. The SJRRS Act provided $50 million of cost share funding to assist awarded agencies in constructing these groundwater facilities.
The first Funding Opportunity Announcement under the financial assistance program was advertised in 2013 and resulted in four local agencies receiving just over $14 million of cost share funding. Since then, increasing land prices and project alterations have resulted in modifications to the original grants, increasing the cost share funding in 2016 by approximately $1 million.
The following table highlights the four local agency projects awarded cost share funding. These projects will capture water that would otherwise go downstream in wet years and store it underground for future use through banking and exchange agreements or to support normal ground water operations in lieu of surface diversions during dry years. The RWA Reduction totals represent the reduction in RWA over the 30 year project life cycle. Reclamation plans to advertise the balance of the remaining Part III funding in 2022, following completion of the current projects.
| Project | Sponsor | Total Project Cost | Cost Share Funding | RWA Reduction | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cordeniz Basin Ground Water Storage Project – Conjunctive Exchange Program | Tulare Irrigation District | $3,800,000 | $1,950,000 | 129,000 AF | Construction complete. |
| Porterville In-Lieu Project Service Areas 1&2 | Porterville Irrigation District | $2,800,000 | $1,200,000 | 26,933 AF | Construction complete. |
| Kimberlina Road Ground Water Recharge and Banking | Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District | $11,900,000 | $4,200,000 | 153,000 AF | Construction complete. |
| TOTAL | $18,500,000 | $7,350,000 |
Project Fact Sheets
Cordeniz Basin Groundwater Storage Project
Kimberlina Groundwater Recharge Basin and Bank
Other Project Media
Take a flyover of the Kimberlina Groundwater Recharge Basin and Bank — the first groundwater recharge project partially funded by the Program under Part III — by clicking here!
To see drone footage of the Shafter-Wasco groundwater banking project, click here.
