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<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black'>Fed grant funds to ease Valley water shortages</span></b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Geneva","serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Geneva","serif";
color:black'><br>
</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black'>Written by Garance Burke, AP Writer</span><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Geneva","serif";color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Geneva","serif";
color:black'> <br>
(AP) — </span><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black'>Federal agencies pledged Thursday to send nearly $60 million in
grants to help California communities, farms and dairies suffering from ongoing
water shortages.</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Geneva","serif";
color:black'><br>
<br>
</span><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:black'>The money includes $40 million from President Obama's stimulus
package aimed at drought-relief projects, the bulk of which will go to the San
Joaquin Valley, where three years of dry weather and irrigation cutbacks have
crippled production and caused severe unemployment.<br>
<br>
Most of the Department of Interior's stimulus funds are intended to help
growers dig new wells and install temporary pipelines and pumps to move water
to farms that need it most, Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes said.<br>
<br>
"The farming communities in the San Joaquin are central to our bread
basket, to our prosperity and to our agricultural strength as a nation,"
he said.<br>
<br>
The announcement was welcome news for farmers on the west side of Fresno
County, the most productive agricultural county in the nation.<br>
<br>
Farms in the area are receiving only 10 percent of their federal water
allocation this year.<br>
<br>
The grants, plus other federal funding announced earlier this year, should help
put rural communities back to work by freeing up water supplies to keep crops
and fruit trees growing, Hayes said.<br>
<br>
The U.S. Department of Agriculture also announced Thursday it would direct an
additional $18 million in grants to help California farmers, dairy operators
and resource conservation districts use water more efficiently and tackle
environmental problems.<br>
<br>
"Regulations for air quality and water quality keep getting tougher, so
this will be a huge help," said Michael Marsh, CEO of Western United
Dairymen.<br>
<br>
<span style='background:yellow;mso-highlight:yellow'>The biggest winner was the
sprawling Westlands Water District, which received a total of $9.5 million in
grants from both agencies.</span><br>
<br>
The district, which produces about $1 billion in crops annually and is one of
Fresno County's biggest employers, says the water shortages have meant that
hundreds of thousands of acres used to grow lettuce, tomatoes and other crops
have been fallowed this year.<br>
<br>
The grants from USDA 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.<br>
<br>
More than $2.2 million will be spent so U.S. Geological Survey scientists can
monitor how increased pumping affects California's central aquifer, which some
state scientists fear could sink enough to slow delivery of water to Southern
California.<br>
<br>
The California Aqueduct, a major canal that delivers drinking water to more
than 20 million people, is among many structures threatened by the sinking.<br>
<br>
A study released by the USGS earlier this month revealed that groundwater
pumping is causing the valley floor to sink.</span></b><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker, JcT</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Chair, Friends
of Trinity River</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>PO Box 2327</span></i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Mill Valley, CA
94942-2327</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810
land/fax</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 519 4810
mobile</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net"><span style='color:blue'>bwl3@comcast.net</span></a></span></i></b><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org"><span style='color:blue'>bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>(secondary)</span></i><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="http://fotr.org/"><span style='color:blue'>http://www.fotr.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
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