The Westlands Water District has received a $1.8 million federal grant to support projects designed to improve water management efficiency and conservation.

The grants will be used to retrofit the district’s underground water distribution system, which supplies water to hundreds of family farms.

The headlines determine: The grant, totaling $1,808,326, comes from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and is being awarded through the federal WaterSMART program.

• Under this program, the Bureau of Reclamation provides 50/50 cost-sharing to irrigation and water districts, tribes, states, and other entities.
• The projects are selected through a competitive process and aim to save and use water more efficiently, increase hydropower production, reduce the risk of conflict in areas at high risk of future water conflicts, and achieve other benefits that contribute to the reliability of water supplies.

The big picture: Westlands began the first phase of implementing its Advanced Metering Infrastructure Project in 2021, which included the installation of approximately 760 groundwater meters with advanced automatic meters.

• Westlands is the only agricultural area in the world that distributes water through a completely closed system.
• The district’s system includes approximately 1,770 kilometers of underground pipes and over 2,400 water meters. The system measures every drop of water and minimizes losses through seepage and evaporation.

Go deeper: Westlands will use the funding for phase two of the project. The district will upgrade 1,603 manually read surface water meters with modern automatic meters.

• The project will increase the frequency of data collection and improve real-time data to identify if meters have inaccuracies that may lead to over-irrigation so that corrections can be made more efficiently. It will also improve the accuracy of lower flow rates, which are often used for mixing in years with low water allocations. It will also help to obtain timely and reliable meter readings to better identify potential leaks.

What we observe: Westlands expects the project to save 9,600 acre-feet of water and eliminate nearly 6,000 miles of vehicle travel.

• In addition, the project is expected to reduce energy consumption by 20,223 kilowatt hours.

What they say: “Westlands is proud to invest in innovative distribution system methods and the best technology available to efficiently use every drop of water,” said Allison Febbo, Westlands General Manager. “This grant will allow the district to more accurately and efficiently track Westlands’ water deliveries – resulting in sustainable water savings of 9,600 acre-feet of water per year.”

• Febbo said the district will begin implementing the project in September.