Funding for the IRWM grant program is provided by Proposition 84 – the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Act (2006). DWR has released draft guidelines for the Proposition 84 and 1E grant cycles that will provide at least $71 million to San Diego over the next few years.

Proposition 84 ‘Call for Projects’ — The San Diego IRWM region is now accepting projects that contribute to our mission – “the protection, management, and development of reliable and sustainable water resources.” Stakeholders may submit water management projects using our online project database. Our interactive database allows local project sponsors to log-in and add, revise, and submit their project information, as well as view all other submitted projects. The Call for Projects will be open through August 2, 2010.

Eligible projects must contribute to our IRWM Plan objectives and provide multiple water resource benefits. Section C of the IRWM Plan outlines San Diego’s regional objectives, which include supply reliability, water quality improvement, and protection of natural resources. Section F of the IRWM Plan (see Table F-1) contains a description of the project scoring process that will be used to rank the submitted projects prior to grant application(s). The Proposition 84 and 1E grant cycles will provide at least $71 million to San Diego over the next few years. The first round of grants, expected this summer, will offer $8 million for our priority projects. Round 2 may occur in 2011, with Round 3 to follow in 2013.

All projects submitted in 2007 for the IRWM Plan are listed in the online project database. Under “All Submitted Projects”, please “Search by: Year (4 digits) = 2007” to review the list of old projects. If you would like to edit and re-submit an old project, please contact Heather Parkison with the Project ID, Organization, and Project Title – she will transfer the project to your log-in account. Any old projects that have not been re-submitted by June 30, 2010 will be deleted.

Proposition 84 Schedule The latest schedule released by DWR for Proposition 84 includes:

DWR Accepts the San Diego Region Application! DWR announced its draft RAP recommendations on September 1, 2009, and the San Diego region was approved without any conditions! This is a significant hurdle for the San Diego region and a testament to our on-going coordination with the South Orange County and Upper Santa Margarita regions through the Tri-County Funding Area Coordinating Committee (for integrated water resources planning in shared watersheds).

Statewide RAP Applications and DWR’s review summaries are available here: http://www.water.ca.gov/irwm/integregio_rap.cfm

Region Acceptance Process Application Submitted! The Region Acceptance Process (RAP) will be used to evaluate and accept an IRWM region into the ongoing IRWM grant program. The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) released the Final RAP Guidelines on March 11, 2009. The San Diego Region submitted a RAP Application to DWR on April 29, 2009.
San Diego IRWM RAP Application – Main (7 MB pdf)
San Diego IRWM RAP Application – Attachments (13 MB pdf)

The IRWM planning process evolved out of Proposition 50, the Water Security, Clean Drinking Water, Coastal and Beach Protection Act (2002). Through Chapter 8 of Proposition 50, approximately $180 million in grants is expected to be available statewide in 2007 to fund projects identified in adopted IRWM Plans. During the first cycle of Proposition Chapter 8 funding, seven IRWM regions across the state have been recommended to each receive $25 million. 
 
The RWMG and Consultant Team submitted step 1 of the Cycle 2 Grant Application on August 1, 2007.  
 
Round 2, Step 1 Application:
Attachment 1 (IRWM Plan)
Attachment 2-5
Regional Maps (Zip file)

Proposition 50 Grant Success! The San Diego Region’s Proposition 50 Chapter 8 implementation grant application was successful!! The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has recommended that the Region receive $25 million to implement the IRWM projects presented in our proposal with a few minor changes. The San Diego County Water Authority is currently working with DWR to develop a contract to receive the funding on behalf of the Region. The project list accepted by DWR for funding under the Proposition 50 IRWM Grant program can be viewed by clicking here.

Recently passed legislation:

Proposition 1E, the Disaster Preparedness and Flood Prevention Bond Act (2006), provides approximately $4 billion in funding for disaster preparedness and flood prevention projects, of which $300 million will be available for grants for stormwater flood management projects that are consistent with an integrated regional water management plan.

The State Water Resources Control Board is accepting applications for the CWA 319(h) Grant Program. Approximately $4.5 million is available statewide for projects that will restore surface waters impaired by nonpoint source (NPS) pollution. The California NPS Program is seeking planning/assessment and implementation concept proposals that address the watersheds and impairments identified in the Program Preferences. Funds will be available for projects that:

Proposals will be selected through a competitive process. The grant amounts are between $75,000-$125,000 for planning/assessment projects, and $250,000-$1,000,000 for implementation projects. Please work with the appropriate Regional Water Board Contact (as listed in the Solicitation Notice) prior to development of your Concept Proposal.

A workshop will be held to assist applicants with their concept proposal applications on November 9 2009. All applicants requesting funds from the CWA 319(h) Grant Program will be required to submit a complete electronic concept application by 5:00 pm on Monday, December 7, 2009 using the State Water Board’s online Financial Assistance Application Submittal Tool (FAAST) system at: https://faast.waterboards.ca.gov For detailed information on eligibility requirements, please read the Solicitation Notice.
Click here to view the Solicitation Notice.