WATSONVILLE — The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PVWMA) and the City of Watsonville received a double treat Thursday in the form of a $ 4 million check for their 2013 WaterSmart grant award and notification of a new, $3.9 million WaterSmart grant award. These grant payments go towards the debt due to the City by the PVWMA for the Recycled Water Facility. These grants fund an overall $20 million authorization from 1999 to the project by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to help repay the costs of building the Watsonville Recycled Water Treatment Facility.
“I am pleased that the agency continues to identify and successfully pursue grant opportunities,” observed PVWMA General Manager Mary Bannister. She added “Securing these funds allows us to continue tackling the thorny issues of salt water intrusion while lessening the burden on residents of the Pajaro Valley for the cost of new water projects.” The PVWMA worked in partnership with the City to build the facility and receives the water produced for delivery in the coastal area impacted by seawater intrusion. Reduction of coastal pumping allows greater groundwater production basin-wide and helps with overdraft.
PVWMA is one of only five projects being awarded funding from the Bureau’s Title XVI WaterSMART grant program and made up 25% of the total $15.5 million awarded this year. The Department of Interior established WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America’s Resources for Tomorrow) in February 2010 to facilitate the work of Interior’s bureaus in pursuing a sustainable water supply for the nation. “Climate change impacts are being felt across the landscape in California, but we can bring some relief to the drought stricken region through innovative efforts that will provide communities with a new source of water, support jobs, and stretch their limited water supplies,” said Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell.
The PVWMA is a public agency whose mission is to protect and preserve the water resources within the agency’s jurisdiction, generally the greater coastal Pajaro Valley.
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For more information on the WaterSmart program please go to: www.usbr.gov/newsroom/newsrelease/detail.cfm?RecordID=46906