Delta Conservancy Board Approves Millions for Projects
Nov. 16, 2022
WEST SACRAMENTO — The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy Board today approved dozens of new projects, totaling up to $10.8 million, and paved the way for an additional $42 million for multi-benefit projects in the Delta.
The Board unanimously approved an award of up to $10.8 million for 64 Delta Drought Response Pilot Program (DDRPP) projects for water year 2023.
The 2023 Delta Drought Response Pilot Program was developed through a collaborative effort between the Department of Water Resources, the Office of the Delta Watermaster, The Nature Conservancy, and the Delta Conservancy, in coordination with Delta water users.
The goals of the 2023 program are to reduce drought stress in the Delta watershed by incentivizing agricultural water users to incorporate practices into their operations that:
- Conserve water on a net basis during the 2023 water year
- Protect Delta water quality by providing an added buffer against salinity intrusion
- Promote soil health
- Mitigate potential drought impacts on fish and migratory birds
Click here to read more about the program.
Additionally, the Board approved draft solicitation notices for Climate Resilience, Community Access, and Natural Resource Protection (CAR) and Nature Based Solutions: Wetland Restoration (NBS: WR) funding. The funding opportunities, $42 million in total, will be administered as non-competitive grant programs without proposal submission deadlines.
Grants funded through CAR funding should be multi-benefit projects that advance the state’s initiatives to build climate resilience, expand outdoor access for all, and advance California’s 30×30 goal to conserve and protect 30 percent of the state’s land and coastal waters by 2030. Grants funded through NBS: WR should support restoration, conservation, and climate resilience for wetlands in the Delta and Suisun Marsh.
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