USDA drought aid to help 25 rural California communities
July 21, 2014 | 02:21 PM
In a sign of the severity of the California drought, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Friday that USDA would provide $9.7 million in emergency water assistance to 73,000 residents in 11 California counties experiencing the driest year on record.
“This drought is devastating those who live, work and raise their families in much of rural California,” Vilsack said in a news release.
“It is threatening the survival of whole communities and livelihoods of folks throughout the state. From Siskiyou County in the north to Kern County in the south, this disaster is crippling communities up and down the 600-mile spine of California.”
Vilsack noted that the emergency water grants are triple the amount committed to when he and President Barack Obama visited the state earlier in the year.
He also credited the USDA Rural Development staff in California and Washington for working with California rural municipal leaders to organize the grant program.
Funding to help 25 rural California communities is being provided through USDA’s Emergency Community Water Assistance Grant (ECWAG) program, which helps rural communities that have experienced a significant decline in the quantity or quality of drinking water due to an emergency.
In January, USDA streamlined the program’s application process to expedite emergency water assistance to communities in need, particularly in drought-impacted areas.
Vilsack made the announcement in Farmersville, Calif., which is receiving a $500,000 ECWAG grant to construct pipelines connecting Cameron Creek Colony to the Farmersville water main and linking residents to the water system.
Vilsack released a list of the communities designated to receive the aid and said they had to meet the terms of the grant agreement. USDA also noted that the terms of the emergency program are on its website.
▪ Fiscal Year 2014 — California Emergency Water Community Assistance Grant Recipients
▪ USDA Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants
“This drought is devastating those who live, work and raise their families in much of rural California,” Vilsack said in a news release.
“It is threatening the survival of whole communities and livelihoods of folks throughout the state. From Siskiyou County in the north to Kern County in the south, this disaster is crippling communities up and down the 600-mile spine of California.”
Vilsack noted that the emergency water grants are triple the amount committed to when he and President Barack Obama visited the state earlier in the year.
He also credited the USDA Rural Development staff in California and Washington for working with California rural municipal leaders to organize the grant program.
Funding to help 25 rural California communities is being provided through USDA’s Emergency Community Water Assistance Grant (ECWAG) program, which helps rural communities that have experienced a significant decline in the quantity or quality of drinking water due to an emergency.
In January, USDA streamlined the program’s application process to expedite emergency water assistance to communities in need, particularly in drought-impacted areas.
Vilsack made the announcement in Farmersville, Calif., which is receiving a $500,000 ECWAG grant to construct pipelines connecting Cameron Creek Colony to the Farmersville water main and linking residents to the water system.
Vilsack released a list of the communities designated to receive the aid and said they had to meet the terms of the grant agreement. USDA also noted that the terms of the emergency program are on its website.
▪ Fiscal Year 2014 — California Emergency Water Community Assistance Grant Recipients
▪ USDA Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants
