Matsui Announces Funding from the BoR's WaterSMART Program for Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 2, 2012

CONTACT: ALANA JUTEAU
202-225-7163

Matsui Announces Funding from the BoR's WaterSMART Program for Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District
$150,000 Will Assist Local Water Recycling Projects

CA - Today, Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento) announced two grants totaling $150,000 from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART program have been awarded to the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (SRCSD). The federal program is designed to assist local government agencies to pursue water recycling programs.

Congresswoman Matsui said, "I applaud the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District for being proactive and finding ways to help with California's water problems, and was pleased to support their application for funding. The federal funding that they will receive from the WaterSMART program will help them provide recycled water to agriculture and habitat lands. This will free up other surface and groundwater currently used for those purposes. It is important for the federal government to acknowledge that recycled wastewater can play an important part in meeting California's water needs."

The grants were as follows:

andbull; $75,000 to the SRCSD, Sacramento Power Authority, City of Sacramento Recycled Water Project Feasibility Study. The federal funding will match $240,000 in local funding. This project will evaluate the feasibility of replacing up to 4,200 acre-feet annually of surface and groundwater supplies with recycled water for industrial uses and to irrigate parks, school grounds, golf courses and landscaped street medians.

andbull; $75,000 to the SRCSD South Sacramento County Agriculture and Habitat Lands Recycled Water Project Feasibility Study. The federal funding will match $678,000 in local funding. The project will evaluate the feasibility of replacing up to 97,000 acre-feet annually of surface and groundwater supplies with recycled water to irrigate up to 27,000 acres of permanent agriculture, habitat mitigation and conservation lands in south Sacramento County.

In February 2012, Congresswoman Matsui wrote a letter to the Department of Interior supporting the grants. She wrote in part that these "innovative project(s) can provide reliable recycled water for agriculture, reduce groundwater pumping and support habitat restoration efforts and Delta sustainability."

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar established WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage Americaand#39;s Resources for Tomorrow) in February 2010 to facilitate the work of pursuing a sustainable water supply for the nation. The program establishes a framework to provide federal leadership and assistance on the efficient use of water and integrating water and energy policies to support the sustainable use of all natural resources. Since its establishment in 2010, WaterSMART has provided more than $118 million in competitively-awarded funding to non-federal partners, including tribes, water districts, municipalities, and universities through WaterSMART Grants and the Title XVI Program.

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