Costa Commends Efforts to Complete Water Recycling Program

Fresno, CA – (RealEstateRama) — Rep. Jim Costa (CA-16) released the following statement after the Bureau of Reclamation signed the Record of Decision (ROD) for the North Valley Regional Recycled Water Program (Program).

The Program is a regional solution to address part of the continuing California water crisis. The Program will make tertiary-treated recycled water available to the drought-impacted west side of the San Joaquin Valley, south of the Delta. The project is moving forward to provide a reliable new water supply for prime agricultural lands and wildlife refuges in San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Merced Counties. The Program is shovel-ready and as much as 59,000 acre-feet of water could be available as soon as 2018.

“We continue to face drought conditions in the San Joaquin Valley, and today, with the signing of the Record of Decision for the North Valley Regional Recycled Water Program, an important next step has been completed to bring a secure water supply to a portion of western Merced County,” said Rep. Costa. “The Program is a terrific example of the innovative approaches that Valley water agencies, municipalities, farmers and sportsmen are using to create additional resiliency to drought in the future. I would like to congratulate Del Puerto Water District and the Bureau of Reclamation for their efforts to bring the Program to this point, and I look forward to its construction.”

Costa continued saying, “More work remains to be done, and I remain committed to using every tool in our water toolbox to bring more reliable water supplies to the people of the San Joaquin Valley.”

Rep. Costa worked with Rep. Jeff Denham and Senator Dianne Feinstein to secure $75,000 from the Bureau of Reclamation’s Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Program that was used for planning purposes and completion of the environmental documents for the Program.