State plan releases money for Friant-Kern canal repairs. How much will be spent

The California Department of Water Resources on Thursday reported it released $29.8 million for repairs to the Friant-Kern Canal, which has lost more than 60 percent of its carrying capacity in eastern Tulare County due to land subsidence.

The Middle Reach Capacity Correction Project is intended to restore a 33-mile section of the 152-mile U.S. Bureau of Reclamation canal. Phase one of the project is expected to cost $292 million and be finished in early 2024.

The department said the Friant-Kern is one of four projects receiving $100 million under the California Budget Act of 2021 to San Joaquin Valley conveyance systems. The Department of Water Resources is working on agreements on the Delta-Mendota Canal, the San Luis Canal and the California Aqueduct. An additional $100 million in funding is slated for the coming fiscal year.

Participants receive funds by showing proof of “adequate non-state cost share to match state financial assistance,” the department noted. As part of the program, agencies are required to investigate the risk of additional land subsidence and ways to prevent it. . Factors contributing to subsidence, or sinking ground, include removal of water, oil, natural gas and mineral resources.