California received $60 million in stimulus money from the Departments of Interior and Agriculture to help farmers already suffering from a severe drought. For the Associated Press article by Garance Burke, click here. According to the article,
[t]he funding announced Thursday includes $40 million in stimulus money aimed at drought-relief projects, the bulk of which will go to the agriculturally rich San Joaquin Valley, where three years of dry weather and irrigation cutbacks have crippled production and caused severe unemployment.Most of the money will go to help farmers drill new wells, install temporary pipelines and pumps to move water to those farms in the most desperate need.
The Department of Agriculture announced that it would be spending $18 million for grants. The grants will go to “help California farmers, dairy operators and resource conservation districts use water more efficiently and tackle environmental problems.”
According to the article, the biggest winner is the Westlands Water District which is receiving $9.5 million from the two departments.
The USDA grants will help Westlands farmers save enough water to irrigate 1,000 more acres and put about 800 people to work, said Tom Birmingham, the district's general manager.Posted: 07/31/09
