Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District

Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District (SWID) is a local government entity located in Kern County, California, registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) since 2007. The district operates as a water management organization focused on sustainable water resources, serving agricultural and regional water needs in the Central Valley region. SWID primarily engages with federal agencies to develop and implement water infrastructure and drought resilience projects, with a specific emphasis on groundwater recharge, water storage, and conveyance improvements.

The district has received multiple federal grant awards primarily from the Bureau of Reclamation under the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief program, totaling approximately $10.6 million between 2020 and 2024. These grants have supported complex water management projects including constructing groundwater recharge facilities, installing pipeline conveyance systems, and implementing water storage improvements. Specific projects include a 112-acre groundwater recharge facility to store flood water, the Kimberlina Pipeline Conveyance Improvement Project to enable 5,850 acre-feet of annual groundwater recharge, and a 37-acre southeast recharge facility with 1,050 linear feet of pipeline. The National Resources Conservation Service has also awarded SWID a grant to quantify groundwater recharge volumes and develop design criteria for subsurface recharge systems. These projects consistently align with the Poso Creek Integrated Regional Water Management Plan and focus on enhancing drought resilience, increasing water supply reliability, and improving operational efficiencies in water management infrastructure.