The headwaters of the Arkansas River are among the areas funded through the Cooperative Watershed Program.
WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Reclamation today announced an $8.9 million investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to protect watershed health and build more resilient water supplies across the West. Funding will support 6 new cooperative projects and 12 existing cooperative projects in 12 states, bringing together diverse stakeholders to develop solutions that meet local water management needs.
“Protection of our watersheds is critical as we work to safeguard local water supplies, restore ecosystems and build climate resilience in the West,” Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said. “Thanks to new resources through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, we are advancing cooperative locally driven partnerships that will help combat the impacts of climate change and provide restored habitat for fish and wildlife.”
Through the WaterSMART Cooperative Watershed Management Program, Reclamation encourages diverse stakeholders to cooperate to develop sustainable local solutions to address ecosystem and water management needs.
This program advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative which sets a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
The projects selected through today’s announcement include:
- The Blackfoot Challenge was selected to receive $300,000 to update their existing watershed-wide restoration plan and complete design work on several high priority restoration projects to improve habit for culturally important, imperiled native fish while increasing sustainability of agricultural economies. The watershed group represents ranchers, conservation groups, state and federal natural resource agencies, community leaders, tribal representatives and recreation interests.
- The Upper Queen Creek Watershed Group in the town of Superior, Arizona was selected to receive $245,308 to study and understand the issues and needs related to water quality, quantity and watershed restoration within the watershed. The group will bring together state and local government agencies, Tribes, recreation and tourism leaders, local ranchers and landowners and those with mining interests to develop a baseline assessment of the watershed and create monitoring plans to understand the long-term function of the watershed.
View a full list of projects on the Bureau of Reclamation’s Website.
A watershed group is a grassroots non-regulatory entity that addresses water availability and quality issues within the relevant watershed. They must be capable of promoting the sustainable use of water resources in the watershed and make decisions on a consensus basis.
Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Reclamation is investing a total of $8.3 billion over five years for water infrastructure projects, including rural water, water storage, conservation and conveyance, nature-based solutions, dam safety, water purification and reuse, and desalination. Since the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was signed in November 2021, Reclamation has announced more than $4.1 billion for more than 537 projects.
