The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) recently administered an Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Implementation Grant using funds authorized by the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 (Proposition 1).
$24.5 million of Prop 1 funding was allocated in 2014 for the Lahontan Funding Area. Of that money, $466,822 goes directly to increasing DAC engagement in the Inyo-Mono region. Work on this grant started in early 2018 and will last 3 years.
Below is a list of work completed:
- Grant Administration – Work in this task included day to day operation of the IRWMP program including budget tracking and quarterly reporting for the DACI grant to DWR to assure all deliverables are met
- Needs Assessments – 37 needs assessments have been completed for the Inyo-Mono region. These include surveys or meetings with individual water systems to identify water management needs and to help direct resources and funding.
- Water Conservation Education – Inyo Mono IRWMP staff has worked with children in DACI communities through out the region teaching water conservation and education to primary age children. Some of the lessons taught include hands on experiments with water filtration and lessons on the water cycle. We have also offered booths at various different events (including the Blake Jones Fishing Derby and various Earth Day celebrations) to introduce IRWMP and educate on water conservation.
- Community Outreach – We have held over 30 public outreach events in the region to introduce the IRWMP program and to discuss local water issues in each community. Some of these events have had over 50 attendees. In addition, we have offered close to 50 one-on-one visitations to various water DACI systems and members of the community to assess and educate them on the Inyo-Mono IRWMP .
- Engaging DAC’s in the IRWM activities in the Inyo-Mono region– The RWMG offers quarterly public meetings to update on the DACI grants and vote on various water related issues (including project development for Prop 1). We also have an interactive website and data management tool to educate and share information.
- Facilitation– IRWMP staff has attended and presented in the annual DACI Lessons Learned summit in Tahoe for the last 5 years. This meeting brings together all the other IRWMP regions from California. The Inyo-Mono IRWMP also hosted a Lahontan Funding Area DACI workshop in Mammoth Lakes, where we brought together representatives from each funding area, as well as staff from CRWA and DWR, to report on activities, efforts, and approaches in their respective regions including successes and challenges associated with DACI efforts.
- Technical Assistance and Project Development – Here is a list of the following T.A. projects we have completed:
- Lundy Mutual Water Company – Preliminary Engineering Study
- Eastern Sierra Community Service District – Median Household Income Survey
- Inyo-Mono Data Management Tool
- Sigma Work
- Technical Trainings including (Budget Planning, Rates and Rate Structure, Permitted Confined Space Entry , Leak Detection, Grant Funding and Infrastructure Planning