Napolitano Welcomes $300,000 Water Grant for San Gabriel River Project
(AZUSA, CA) – (RealEstateRama) — Today, Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D-El Monte) congratulated the San Gabriel River Water Committee on being awarded a $300,000 Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART Drought Resiliency Project Grant it received for the construction of a new river gate inlet structure near the existing Azusa-Duarte Tunnel Inlet on the San Gabriel River. Napolitano requested in a February 2017 letter that the Bureau of Reclamation support the Committee’s grant application. Her full letter can be viewed here.
“Congratulations to the San Gabriel River Water Committee on being awarded new federal funds to improve water delivery to residents of Azusa, Duarte, and other San Gabriel Valley cities,” Napolitano said. “We are thrilled this project’s grant request was fulfilled, and we welcome new federal dollars to help address our San Gabriel Valley’s water needs. The new gate will provide better water management practices, which are especially vital during ongoing drought conditions, while enhancing safety and systems operations along the San Gabriel River.”
The San Gabriel River Inlet Replacement Infrastructure Project will replace the existing river gate, which was constructed in the 1880s and is insufficient and unsafe to operate, with a motorized weir gate. The project also includes the installation of remote operating technology to operate the ditch gate structure in real-time, to more efficiently manage water deliveries. The grant covers $300,000 of the total project cost of $689,093; the remaining money will be local funding.
Napolitano is a long-time promoter of conservation, water recycling, desalination, and groundwater management as solutions to Southern California’s water needs. She is a current member and the former top Democrat on the House Committee on Natural Resources’ Water, Power, and Oceans Subcommittee, which oversees the Bureau of Reclamation.
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