The projects selected by CABY members to include in this proposal show their commitment to retaining and restoring the infrastructure, ecological health and resilience of this area so that we can continue to realize the benefits and services they provide — both within the region and to the rest of the state. By working closely with its stakeholders, CABY identified a suite of projects which best meet the need to restore the long term resiliency and adaptability of the region.
The Department of Water Resources awarded CABY $5,163,032 to fund the following projects:
- Camptonville Community Service District Water System Improvement Project
- City of Placerville Waterline Replacement Project
- Lincoln Metering and Hydroelectric Station
- Water Efficiency, Water Quality and Supply Reliability in the CABY Region
- Wolf Creek Watershed Restoration, Stormwater Source Control and Flood Management
- CABY Mercury and Sediment Abatement Initiative
- Meadow Restoration, Assessment and Prioritization in the American, Bear and Yuba Watersheds
These projects demonstrated a clear balance between infrastructure and natural resource issues and all have a clear connection to the focus of headwaters resiliency and adaptability by:
- Protecting and restoring the headwaters of the region, which constitute a key element of the state’s water supply.
- Addressing the region’s most immediate needs including aging infrastructure and emergency preparedness.
- Ensuring sustainable local water supply and water quality within the Region and for downstream users without compromising the natural environment.
- Addressing far-reaching and long-term climate change affects with an intentional focus on adaptation.
- Developing model pilot projects that can be used throughout the region to ensure resilience in CABY’s headwater watersheds.
- Establishing methodologies to systematically restore rivers and meadows that were contaminated and degraded during the Gold Rush due to legacy land use practices.
Moreover, the projects chosen illustrate a determination of CABY’s diverse stakeholders, even in an environment of limited funding resources, to develop projects within all of the CABY programmatic areas that embrace the principles of Integrated Regional Water Management.