For Immediate Release
Contact: Elizabeth Jonasson
(559) 241-6233
Westlands
Water District Awarded Nearly $2M to Increase Water Management Efficiency and
Conservation throughout the District
Grant will be used to install advanced automated metering devices.
Fresno, CA – The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) recently awarded Westlands Water District $1,808,326 in grant funding through the federal WaterSMART program in support of projects designed to increase water management efficiency and conservation. Awarded funds will be used to retrofit Westlands’ buried distribution system that delivers metered water to hundreds of family-owned farms.
“Westlands takes pride in investing in innovative distribution system methods and the best available technology to efficiently use every drop of water,” said Allison Febbo, General Manager, Westlands Water District. “This grant will allow the District to track Westlands’ water deliveries more accurately and efficiently – producing sustainable water savings to the tune of 9,600 acre-feet of water per year.”
Westlands is the only agricultural water district in the world that distributes water through an entirely enclosed system which is comprised of approximately 1,100 miles of buried pipeline and over 2,400 water meters. Westlands continually invests in and updates this sophisticated system, which measures every drop of water and minimizes losses caused by seepage and evaporation.
In 2021, Westlands began the first phase of implementing the Westlands Advanced Metering Infrastructure Project (Project), which included installing approximately 760 groundwater meters with advanced automated metering devices.
Grant funds from the WaterSMART grant program will be used to complete phase two of the Project which entails retrofitting 1,603 manually read surface water meters with advanced automated metering devices. The Project will assist the District’s water management activities by increasing data collection frequency, improving real-time data to determine if meters are experiencing inaccuracies that can contribute to overirrigation so corrections can be made more efficiently, dramatically improving the accuracy of lower flow rates often used for blending in years the District receives little allocation, and assisting in timely and reliable meter reads to better identify potential leaks. The Project is expected to conserve 9,600 acre-feet of water, avoid nearly 6,000 vehicle miles traveled, reduce 20,223 kilowatt-hours in energy consumption, and decrease associated greenhouse gas emissions reductions every year.
Febbo added, “The District is committed to implementing innovative water conservation technology tactics to help build an even more efficient water future for the hundreds of family-owned farms in the San Joaquin Valley. We thank the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for this important funding and can’t wait to begin implementing this project in September.”
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About Westlands Water District
Westlands Water District is recognized as a world leader in agricultural water conservation and has served the farmers and rural communities on the west side of Fresno and Kings counties for more than five decades. As stewards of one of California’s most precious natural resources, Westlands continually invests in conservation, and champions farmers deploying innovative irrigation methods based on the best available technology.