LA County Region Receives $25 Million for Local Water Projects

Lester Snow, director of the State Department of Water Resources, presented a $25 million mock-check on July 23, to County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors Chair Yvonne B. Burke and a handful of municipal, non-profit, and water agency officials. The check presentation, held at the Bixby Marshland in Carson, symbolized an award of $25 million in State Proposition 50 grant funds allocated to the Greater Los Angeles County Region Integrated Regional Water Management Group.

The $25 million will help fund 14 water resource-related projects dispersed throughout Los Angeles County. The projects are designed to address multiple aspects of water supply, water conservation, water quality, habitat restoration, and water resource-related public education. Total cost of these projects is estimated at $174 million.

“These projects are a credit to the state and to the fact that we have worked together to ensure sustainable water supplies, better water quality, environmental stewardship, efficient urban development, and a strong economy,” said Supervisor Burke.

Each of the 14 projects is identified within the Greater Los Angeles County Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (IRWMP), a comprehensive document that outlines regional water resource solutions, their costs, and benefits. Developing an IRWMP also allowed regions to apply for Proposition 50 and 84 state grant funding. There are approximately 2,000 projects identified within the Greater Los Angeles County Region IRWMP.

The Greater Los Angeles County Region covers an area of 2,058 square miles and encompasses portions of four counties and 92 cities. IRWMP efforts are administered by a Leadership Committee and five Sub-Regional Steering Committees.

IRWMPs for the Antelope Valley Region and Upper Santa Clara River Region were adopted in 2007 and 2008, respectively.