San Luis Obispo County Flood Control And Water Conservation District

San Luis Obispo County Flood Control And Water Conservation District is a California county water agency that acts as a federal grant recipient, not a federal contractor. The District operates as a U.S. local government entity and receives funding as both prime recipient and sub-recipient under federal water and emergency management grant programs, with all eight recent awards (combined obligated value $3.9 million) falling under cooperative agreements and emergency assistance rather than federal contracts.

The District's grant footprint splits across three federal agencies. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) accounts for five of eight awards, all as sub-recipient work flowing from the Office of Emergency Services (California's state emergency management agency). The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation issued two prime cooperative agreements — $469,654.86 awarded February 27, 2026, under the WaterSMART program (CFDA 15.507) for drought contingency planning of the 27,670-acre Chorro Creek Watershed through June 2027, and $1,096,820 awarded September 9, 2024, under the Water Recycling and Desalination Construction Programs (CFDA 15.504) for a desalination feasibility study and stakeholder engagement running through October 2026. The Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service funded one prime award of $1,657,500 under the Emergency Watershed Protection program (CFDA 10.923) for recovery measures and erosion prevention, with performance ending October 31, 2025.

The District's sub-recipient grants from FEMA, flowing through California's Office of Emergency Services, address emergency infrastructure repairs following disasters — projects including Salinas Dam V-notch weir and weather-station repairs, bridge damage mitigation, and debris removal from the Lopez Water System, with cost-share arrangements ranging from 75 to 100 percent federal funding. Activity is concentrated in 2024 and 2025; only one award appears in 2026. One award (the NRCS Emergency Watershed Protection grant) reaches ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, with the FEMA sub-awards and Bureau of Reclamation drought and desalination planning grants extending into 2026 and 2027. The District does not hold any federal contract vehicles, IDIQs, or GWACs and competes exclusively in the federal grant space under its role as a local water-resource and flood-control authority.