Background: California voters approved Proposition 1, the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014. Proposition 1 authorized $510 million in Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) funding for watershed projects. The Prop 1 IRWM also includes targeted funding for the Disadvantaged Community Involvement Program (DACI). This program is designated to ensure the involvement of disadvantaged communities, economically distressed areas, and underrepresented communities in IRWM planning efforts. The Proposition 1 2016 IRWM Guidelines establish the general process, procedures, and criteria that the California Department of Water Resources will use to implement the IRWM Disadvantaged Community Involvement Program. 

Through DACI, the California Rural Water Association (CRWA) was awarded $2.4 million in grant funding and the Honey Lake Conservation District was selected as the subgrantee to support needs assessments, water management project planning, and capacity building in disadvantaged communities throughout the Lahontan Basins Funding Area.

During the planning process, HLVRCD will work to conduct income surveys, provide data and mapping services, schedule site visits with stakeholders and facilitate project development workshops throughout the region for DAC water users and underserved agencies. The workshops will include discussion of the project application process and breakout sessions to address individual project proponents’ needs. Projects identified through this activity will be selected for further project development support and recipients of the DAC project development funding will be determined using a scoring matrix. The highest-ranking projects lacking technical components will then be selected for project development, which will include, as needed, the development of environmental, engineering, and/or design documents.

Workshop dates and locations TBD.

Eligible applicants include:

• Nonprofit Organizations (501(c)(3) qualified to do business in CA)
• Public Utilities
• Public Agencies
• Mutual Water Companies
• Federally recognized Tribes
• California Native American Tribes

Eligible projects may provide the following benefits, but are not limited to:

• Increased water supply reliability
• Assistance to the agricultural community
• Improved water quality
• Improved flood protection

Resources:

Proposition 1 2016 IRWM Guidelines

DWR DAC IRWM Webpage 

DAC Mapping Tool

DWR DACI Request for Proposals