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WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced today that the Bureau of Reclamation is awarding 17 projects in California, Colorado, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Montana a total of $6.9 million to proactively prepare for and address drought in their communities. The federal funding will be leveraged to support more than $47.9 million for the development of drought contingency plans and implementation of drought resiliency projects.

"Drought continues to have serious adverse impacts throughout the West,” Secretary Zinke said. “Reclamation and its partners have been leaders in combating this drought for a hundred years. The newest infusion of Reclamation funds announced today will help communities in five states prepare for and respond to drought.”

Reclamation's Drought Response Program supports a proactive approach to drought. It aids water users for drought contingency planning. The Drought Response Program also provides funding for the implementation of mitigation actions through drought resiliency projects, giving priority to projects that are supported by a drought planning effort.

Complete descriptions of all the selected projects are available at www.usbr.gov/drought.

Five projects in California and one project in Montana were selected through a competitive process to receive funding to develop drought contingency plans. They are:

• Bella Vista Water District (California)
  
  Reclamation funding: $86,580; Total Project Cost: $173,160


• City of Rialto, California
  
  Reclamation funding: $200,000; Total Project Cost: $404,474


• Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation
  
  Reclamation funding: $150,000; Total Project Cost: $300,000


• Schafter-Wasco Irrigation District (California)
  
  Reclamation Funding: $200,000; Total Project Cost: $456,500


• Sonoma County Water Agency (California)
  
  Reclamation Funding: $200,000; Total Project Cost: $501,196


• Southern California Edison Company (California)
  
  Reclamation Funding: $100,000; Total Project Cost: $200,000

Eleven projects in California, Colorado, Nevada and Oklahoma were selected through a competitive process to receive Drought Resiliency Project grants. They are:

• Alameda County Water District (California), Rubber Dam #3 Fish Ladder
  
  Reclamation Funding: $750,000; Total Project Cost: $7,121,600


• Big Bend Water District (Nevada), Riverbank Filtration to Improve Water Quality
  
  Reclamation Funding: $300,000; Total Project Cost: $1,308,317


• Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe (California), Development of a Smart Water Grid on Tribal Lands
  
  Reclamation Funding: $300,000; Total Project Cost: $600,000


• Central Colorado Water Conservancy District, Northeast Colorado Walker Recharge Project - Phase I
  
  Reclamation Funding: $750,000; Total Project Cost: $7,000,000


• City of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Caney River Water Augmentation and Intake Improvements
  
  Reclamation Funding: $750,000; Total Project Cost: $7,152,097


• City of Torrance, California, Torrance Van Ness Well Field
  
  Reclamation Funding: $750,000; Total Project Cost: $16,703,900


• Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians (California), West Fork Russian River Bank Stabilization and Habitat Restoration
  
  Reclamation Funding: $300,000; Total Project Cost: $600,000


• Merced Irrigation District (California), Merced River Instream & Off-Channel Drought Habitat Project
  
  Reclamation Funding: $744,489; Total Project Cost: $2,707,763


• Mountain Park Master Conservancy District (Oklahoma), Groundwater Supply Augmentation Project
  
  Reclamation Funding: $300,000; Total Project Cost: $618,500


• Round Valley Indian Tribes (California), Mill Creek Streamflow & Riparian Corridor Restoration Project
  
  Reclamation Funding: $689,101; Total Project Cost: $1,444,461


• San Gabriel River Water Committee (California), San Gabriel Inlet Structure Project
  
  Reclamation Funding: $300,000; Total Project Cost: $689,093

To learn more about Reclamation's Drought Response Program and to see a complete description of all the projects, visit https://www.usbr.gov/drought.