Corcoran Irrigation District to use $15 million federal grant to conserve water
Editor’s note: Monserrat Solis covers Kings County water issues for SJV Water through the California Local News Fellowship initiative.
Corcoran Irrigation District won a $15-million federal grant for water conservation but is still working out the details for how to spend that money.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the grant award in August 2024, as part of a larger program to invest $400 million to address drought across the west. That money is intended to help 18 water districts, including Corcoran, invest in water-saving technologies, according to a news release sent out at the time.
The goal is to “conserve up to 50,000 acre-feet in water use across 250,000 acres of irrigated land in production, while expanding and creating new, sustainable market opportunities,” according to the news release.
But the details are still vague.
“We want to support the district and its operations and its growers, but we have gotten zero feedback as to what potential projects (the USDA) would support,” Corcoran Irrigation District Manager Devin Eagle said during a December 2024 district board meeting.
He told the board that guidelines for the projects were “unknown,” and suggested SJV Water reach out to the USDA for details on the grant.
A spokesperson with USDA said each district is expected to work with growers to develop plans that are unique to that district.
Those plans could employ a number of strategies, including:
- Upgrading pumps and other water management equipment
- Covering canals the reduce evaporation loss
- Restoring natural recharge areas
- Installing storm water catchment systems
- Improving water delivery infrastructure
“The needs of producers will determine the specific strategies for water conservation, including irrigation improvements, shifts in management practices, shifts in cropping systems, and other innovative strategies,” the USDA spokesperson wrote in an email.
The farmers will receive payments from the district out of the grant funding for “voluntarily reducing water losses while maintaining commodity production,” the spokesperson wrote.
This grant program is separate from other federal grants including WaterSMART, provided by the Bureau of Reclamation, and Environment Quality Incentives Program (EQUP), by the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
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