The State Water Resources Control Board announced today it is awarding more than $20 million in an initial round of grant funds statewide to cleanup or prevent the spread of groundwater contamination to aquifers that serve as a source of drinking water.
The first eight projects, from South Lake Tahoe to Orange County, include construction of treatment systems to cleanup groundwater contaminated by past industrial activities; investigations into the most cost effective way to remove contamination from aquifers; and proper destruction of old wells to ensure contamination cannot easily travel through the well to drinking water sources. (See list of projects below.)
“Our groundwater aquifers are our prized water savings accounts. They provide a cushion when our other supplies are depleted, and serve as the only source of water for some communities. Unfortunately, in many cases they have become contaminated by historic industrial or agricultural uses,” said State Water Board Chair Felicia Marcus.
“Groundwater aquifers are perfect storage for recycled water, stormwater capture, and other water, but we need to deal with legacy contamination to make that work,” Marcus added. “In the face of climate change, population growth and drought, it is becoming even more crucial to restore and protect these aquifers so that they can productively supply communities with clean water.”
The projects help achieve the goals of California’s Water Action Plan, which serves as California’s road map toward sustainable water management and calls for accelerating the cleanup of contaminated groundwater and preventing future contamination. The plan was released by the Brown administration in 2014.
Project funding comes from the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, also known as Proposition 1, which was approved by California voters in the Nov. 4, 2014, general election. With local matching funds the total value of the projects supported by state grant funds is more than $40 million.
Proposition 1 provided $900 million for a Groundwater Sustainability Program (Assembly Bill 1471, Chapter 10), of which the State Water Board is administering $800 million. The State Water Board adopted the Groundwater Grant Program Guidelines (GWGP) for administering GWGP Proposition 1 funds May 18, 2016 (Resolution 2016-0028), and initiated the first project solicitation.
The State Water Board anticipates awarding additional funds over the next several months to projects submitted in the initial solicitation. The next round of solicitation for the Proposition 1 GWGP is expected in October 2017.
The list of projects that have received a preliminary award of funding is provided below.
Table 1: GWGP Prop 1, Preliminary Award Projects
| Project Number | County | Applicant | Proposal Title | Requested Grant Amount | Match Amount | Total Project Cost | Recommended Grant Award |
| 1 | Alameda | Alameda County Water District | Old Jarvis Road Irrigation Well Destruction Project | $137,001 | $137,002 | $274,003 | $137,000 |
| 2 | Stanislaus | City of Modesto | Destruction of Water Supply Wells | $3,590,723 | $104,887 | $1,048,872 | $943,985 |
| 3 | Orange | Orange County Water District | North Basin Extraction Well EW-1 Project | $800,000 | $800,000 | $1,600,000 | $800,000 |
| 4 | Orange | Orange County Water District | North Basin Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study | $1,000,000 | $1,797,985 | $2,797,985 | $1,000,000 |
| 5 | Orange | Orange County Water District | South Basin Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study | $1,000,000 | $1,280,692 | $2,280,692 | $1,000,000 |
| 6 | Los Angeles | Water Replenishment District of Southern California | Los Angeles Forebay Perchlorate and VOC Cleanup Project – Phase 1 | $7,275,675 | $1,839,070 | $ 9,114,745 | $7,275,675 |
| 7 | San Bernardino | Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) | Chino Basin Improvement and Groundwater Clean-up Project | $11,377,018 | $11,520,087 | $22,897,105 | $11,377,018 |
| 8 | El Dorado | South Tahoe Public Utility District | Feasibility Study of Remedial Alternatives to Mitigate PCE Contamination | $294,270 | $294,270 | $588,540 | $294,270 |
| Totals: | $25,474,686 | $17,773,993 | $40,601,942 | $22,827,948 |
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