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House
OKs
Inland Empire
Water and Energy Supply Projects Requested by Congressman Lewis
WASHINGTON
– A federal
energy and water programs spending bill approved by the House Friday includes
funding to reduce energy consumption in the Inland Empire and to find new
sources of water around
Lake
Arrowhead
and increase conservation behind the Seven Oaks Dam, Congressman Jerry Lewis
said.
The
Fiscal Year 2010 appropriations bill providing $33.3 billion for the Department
of Energy and federal water agencies was approved by a 320-97 vote in the House
of Representatives. It now goes to the Senate for approval. Once it receives
final approval, the funding will be available at the beginning of the new fiscal
year on October 1.
“The
Inland Empire
projects approved by the House today will provide short-term economic benefits
by providing jobs, and long-term benefits through better use of our water and
energy resources,” said Lewis, the senior Republican on the House
Appropriations Committee. “There is no question that they are a wise
investment for our region and the nation.”
The
bill provides $800,000 requested by Lewis to complete a study of water
conservation behind Seven Oaks Dam on the upper
Santa Ana
River
. Lewis convinced the Army Corps of Engineers to begin the study after the 2005
rains showed that a significant amount of water could be stored behind the dam
and delivered in measured amounts to water providers during drier months. The
study will investigate ways to ensure that the water is delivered at the highest
quality possible.
“Water
is an increasingly precious resource as Southern California continues to grow,
and it makes no sense whatsoever to let millions of gallons flow into the
Pacific Ocean
when it can be stored and used later,” Lewis said. “It is my hope that this
study will help us provide another important local source of water and reduce
our need to import it from
Northern California
.”
Also
approved was $1 million requested by Lewis to study how to increase local water
supplies for the growing communities around
Lake
Arrowhead
. The state water resources board in 2006 ruled that the Lake Arrowhead
Community Services District must reduce its draw from the lake, which is owned
by the Arrowhead Lake Association as a recreational resource. The district is
working on a $56 million plan that would develop new wells, increase
conservation and recycling of water, and investigate new sources of water to
ensure the lake is maintained at the optimum level.
Big
Bear
Lake
water quality will also be improved with an $800,000 allocation requested by
Congressman Lewis to remove sediment and restore aquatic habitat. The lake has
been flagged for high levels of mercury, phosphorus and nitrogen, and is
increasingly clogged by nuisance plant growth. In addition, it has been
threatened since 2007 by the introduction of the Quagga Mussel, which has
explosive growth and can choke an entire ecosystem if it is not brought under
control.
An
allocation of $1 million requested by Lewis was approved to study habitat
restoration, water detention basins and channel preservation to prevent floods
along Wildwood Creek,
Oak
Glen
Creek
and
Wilson
Creek
in the city of
Yucaipa
. The city has begun a joint watershed project with the Army Corps of Engineers
and the county flood control district for an areawide flood management plan.
When completed, it is expected to save millions of dollars by preventing damage
to downstream bridges, stream channels and freeway improvements because of
floods. It also has the potential to preserve water to help recharge the
city’s groundwater basin, Lewis said.
The
bill includes funding requested by Lewis to reduce the demands on the overtaxed
Southern California
electrical grid through renewable energy projects in three communities.
The
city of
Redlands
would receive $900,000 to assess ways to reduce energy consumption through more
efficient climate-control systems in all of its municipal buildings. The city
has projected a potential of hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings, as
well as significantly reducing the demand on the area’s supplies of
electricity.
The
mountain communities around
Big
Bear
Lake
will also benefit from a reduced power demand through a $3 million allocation
requested by Lewis to install solar panels on parking structure canopies for the
City of Big Bear Lake, the
Bear
Valley
Unified
School District
and the Bear Valley Electric Service. The program is designed to determine how
to increase the use of solar energy in areas with limited space available, like
the
San Bernardino Mountains
.
Another
$1 million allocation requested by Lewis was approved for a solar power project
at the
Running
Springs
Retreat
Center
operated by Chabad. The non-profit camp serves up to 10,000 children a year,
many from lower-income families. It has also served as an important staging area
for firefighters during mountain wildfires. An estimated 624,000 kilowatt hours
of energy is expected to be saved through the use of the solar panels.
Other
approved projects requested by Lewis included:
·
$100,000
for the Mojave Water Agency to continue a plan to recharge the Upper Mojave
River well field and develop plans to balance supply and demand in order to
reduce basin overdraft and preserve riparian habitat along the river. The
project was recently approved for a $13 million allocation from the stimulus
fund.
·
$100,000
for the Hi-Desert Water District in Yucca Valley to develop a wastewater
collection and reuse facility to reduce the overdraft of the groundwater basin
under the Morongo Valley.
·
$100,000
for the Mission Springs Water District in Desert Hot Springs to continue a study
of how to reduce the potential for groundwater degradation by the use of
numerous septic tanks in the area.
·
$1
million requested jointly with Congressman Joe Baca for the city of
San Bernardino
to determine the viability of a recycled water facility to reduce the use of
the city’s groundwater basin.
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