Fresno irrigation district (district), located in the central valley of california, will providelandowners financial incentives to install meters on twenty existing groundwater wells

The Fresno Irrigation District (the District) received a $200,000 Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation under the WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America's Resources for Tomorrow) program (CFDA 15.507). The grant will provide financial incentives to landowners within the District's service area to install meters on 20 existing groundwater wells. This project will generate water use data from irrigation wells, enabling landowners to better manage groundwater consumption during periods when surface water is unavailable from the District. The project supports the goals of the District's water management plan and 2018 agricultural water management plan, and will provide critical data to support decision-making and water conservation efforts within a critically overdrafted groundwater basin in California's Central Valley region. The award period is from April 9, 2025, through the ultimate completion date of June 30, 2026.

Theproject will provide water use data from irrigation wells to landowners to better managegroundwater consumption during periods of the year when surface water is not available fromthe district. The project will provide data for decision-making and water conservation within acritically overdrafted groundwater basin. The project supports the goals of the district s watermanagement plan and 2018 agricultural water management plan.