The Long Beach Water Department announced Friday that it will receive $1.3 million in federal funding for its seawater desalination and recycled water projects, bringing the city one step closer to having a little more water independence.
The U.S. Senate voted last week to approve the $33.5 billion 2010 fiscal year Energy and Water Appropriations Conference Report, which funds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Interior (including the Bureau of Reclamation), the Department of Energy and several independent Agencies. Included in the bill is $670,000 for the Long Beach Seawater Desalination Project and $634,000 for the Long Beach Reclaimed Water Expansion Project. The bill was approved two weeks ago by the U.S. House of Representatives and will now go to President Obama to be signed into law.
Earlier this year, more than $3 million in stimulus funds were awarded to the Long Beach Seawater Desalination Project. Once the President signs and approves the FY 10 Energy & Water Appropriations bill, Long Beach will have received a total of $4.3 million in federal funds this year for its two Title XVI water supply projects.
"With these funds, we will now be able to complete the third and final phase of our Seawater Desalination Research and Development Project," Kevin Wattier, General Manager of the Long Beach Water Department, said in a statement.
"We will also be able to continue to expand the city's use of recycled water, which reduces our consumption of potable water, and makes Long Beach less dependent on outside sources of water, which as everyone knows are becoming more and more unreliable," Wattier continued. "Add in our tremendous conservation effort and Long Beach is well on its way to becoming self-reliant when it comes to its water supply."
With the addition of the FY 10 appropriations, the Long Beach Seawater Desalination and Recycled Water projects have now received approximately $11.4 million and $12.4 million, respectively, in federal funding through annual appropriations dating back to the year 2000. The federal funds for these projects have been supplemented by both state and local funding sources.
Paul Eakins reports on Long Beach City Hall, and local and regional
politics. A newcomer to the Press-
Kris Hanson reports on the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles,
covering environmental issues, economic triumphs and
pitfalls and trade trends of America’s largest port.
He also writes a weekly column “On The Waterfront”,
appearing Tuesdays, and also produces an occassional video
and column titled “On The Job,” which follows the hard-working
men and women who keep Southern California’s economy humming.
Karen Robes Meeks came to work for the Press-
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