Congresswoman Grace Napolitano Headlines Joint WRD And County Sanitation Districts Press Event

Federal Funds Awarded to Help Develop Local Water Supplies

Lakewood, CA /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ - Congresswoman Grace Napolitano (D-38th) today announced the award of $300,000 in 2010 WaterSmart funding to the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD). At a joint press conference with officials from WRD and the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, Napolitano said the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) award will be used to develop WRD's Groundwater Basin Master Plan.

"WRD's grant application was among the highest rated in the country," Napolitano said, "reflecting the national importance of developing local water supplies in our region to reduce reliance on increasingly vulnerable and expensive imported supplies from Northern California and the Colorado River."

WRD manages two of the most heavily used groundwater basins in the state. Groundwater from these basins provides 40% of the overall water supply to the 4 million residents in 43 cities in WRD's service area.

"Over 10% of the state's population relies on WRD to replenish the groundwater basins," Napolitano said. "WRD continues to develop smart water projects that simultaneously meet regional needs while contributing to long-term statewide solutions. Programs like WRD's Water Independence Now (WIN) and Groundwater Reliability Improvement Program (GRIP) will ensure that south Los Angeles County will have a reliable source of local water supply as the future of imported water supply becomes less certain."

WRD Board President Sergio Calderon applauded Napolitano's efforts. "This grant is further evidence of Congresswoman Napolitano's leadership on water matters in Congress. Her efforts to help us develop local, reliable and sustainable water supply will have permanent benefits to the groundwater community and the 4 million people we serve.

"These federal funds," Calderon said, "will advance the District's goal to eliminate the need for expensive and unreliable imported water for groundwater replenishment by 2015."

WRD General Manager Robb Whitaker said the District has long believed that a large part of the solution to the state's persistent water crisis exists in the development of local supplies in the form of increased storm water capture and recycled water use. "Smart planning, collaboration and adequate funding for programs and projects in Southern California are indispensable components of a long-term solution for our region and the state," Whitaker said. "These Water Smart funds move us just that much closer to the solution we all seek."

Created by voters in 1959, WRD is a regional groundwater management agency that protects and preserves the quantity and quality of groundwater supplies for 10 percent of the State's population residing in southern Los Angeles County.

SOURCE Water Replenishment District of Southern California