USDA awards approx $2M for irrigation and nutrient management on the central coast.

The USDA recently announced that it will continue to fund the Central Coast Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP) in FY2010. Approximately $2 million dollars are available to go directly to eligible central coast agricultural producers for conservation planning, technical design, and financial assistance to implement improved irrigation and nutrient management practices.  AWEP is a non-regulatory program - participation is voluntary and confidential. Sign-ups for FY2010 AWEP funding run May 10 - May 24, 2010. See links below for program details and contact information.

Click here for 2010 Central Coast AWEP Brochure

Click here for 2010 Central Coast AWEP Fact sheet

Click here for summary results from 2009 Central Coast AWEP

Initially selected and funded by the USDA in 2009, the Central Coast AWEP in its first year helped 29 growers install 185 conservation practices, treating 2,215 acres to reduce runoff and leaching of nutrients. The project area covers the Pajaro River, Salinas River, Santa Maria River, and coastal San Luis watersheds. The project aims to conserve the Central Coast’s limited water supply and improve the quality of agricultural runoff to restore beneficial uses of local waterways and protect unique marine resources including the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Morro Bay National Estuary.

Project partners include: Central Coast Resource Conservation and Development Council (lead applicant); USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; Resource Conservation Districts of Santa Cruz County, Monterey County, Coastal San Luis, and Cachuma; University of California Cooperative Extension; Central Coast Agricultural Water Quality Coalition; NOAA's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

The selection of this project for AWEP funding is a testament to the strength of partnership that the Agriculture Water Quality Alliance has fostered among agricultural and natural resource conservation partners on the Central Coast, and a recognition of the value of our regional, collaborative approach.  The Central Coast Irrigation and Nutrient Management AWEP will provide critical financial and technical assistance to implement a priority strategy within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary’s Agriculture and Rural Lands Plan, which seeks to enhance agricultural water quality in watersheds that drain to the MBNMS.  For more information on AWEP contact your local NRCS office or Jeff Rodriguez, Central Coast RC&D at 805-434-0396 x 119 or jeff.rodriguez@ca.usda.gov.