More federal funds secured for sinking Friant-Kern Canal; other water infrastructure
Congressman Jim Costa announced Friday that more than $131 million in federal funding is being awarded for major water infrastructure improvements across the San Joaquin Valley, including two main components of the federal water delivery system, the Friant-Kern Canal and the O’Neill Pumping Plant.
The canal stretches 152 miles from Millerton Lake in Fresno County to its terminus in Kern County, delivering water to more than 15,000 farms on the eastside of the San Joaquin Valley and cities such as Fresno and Lindsay.
Groundwater overpumping had caused a 33-mile section of the canal in Tulare County to sink, crimping its carrying capacity by 60%. The Friant Water Authority, which oversees the canal, has spent more than $300 million to build an entirely new 10-mile section of canal but more repairs are needed.
The O’Neill Pumping Plant is 12 miles west of Los Banos and lifts water from the Delta-Mendota Canal into the O’Neill Forebay, where water then travels to contractors of the federal Central Valley Project.
Projects receiving funding include:
- $65.8 million for the Friant-Kern Canal Capacity Correction Project
- $53 million for the O’Neill Pumping Plant Main Transformer Replacement Project
- $11 million for the O’Neill Pumping Plant Unit Upgrades Project
- $2 million for Fresno Irrigation District flow metering improvements, expected to conserve approximately 840 acre-feet of water annually.
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