The Department of the Interior announced a total of over $849 million from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to revitalize aging water delivery systems across the West. The funding includes support of 11 projects in Northern California totaling $65.1 million to improve water conveyance and storage, increase safety, improve hydropower generation, provide water treatment, as well as funding for fishery improvements.
The funding was announced by Reclamation’s Senior Counselor John Watts during a visit to Shasta Dam in California’s Shasta County this morning. Projects focusing on water and power include:
- Shasta Powerplant Service Transformer - $11,198,509
- Shasta Dam 850' and 950' Outlet Works Rehabilitation - $9,550,000
- Shasta Power Plant Generator Step Up Transformers Replacement - 7,250,000
- Keswick Dam Spillway Regulating Gate Rehabilitation - $4,400,000
- Keswick Power Plant Generator Step Up Transformers Replacement - $3,200,000
- Shasta Pumping Plant Modernization - $2,530,000
- Spring Creek Power Plant Turbine Runners Replacement - $2,500,000
- Shasta Power Plant and Keswick Power Plant Elevator Modernization - $1,400,000
Reclamation’s North State fishery program funding includes:
- Spring Creek Conduit Intake Temperature Curtain Replacement - $2,250,000
- Whiskeytown Reservoir Oak Bottom Temperature Curtain Replacement - $880,000
- Coleman National Fish Hatchery Modernization - $20,000,000
“Reclamation is committed to utilizing these historic investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to ensure our projects remain reliable and sustainable for the next generation,” said Reclamation Senior Counselor John Watts. “These facilities are essential to the West as they provide water for families, farms, and Tribes and produce hydropower and recreation opportunities for communities.”
“Shasta Dam was completed nearly 80 years ago. These projects are vital to our critical infrastructure here in Northern California,” said Acting Area Manager Elizabeth Hadley. “I am proud of our team at the Northern California Area Office that will carry out these projects that will benefit the communities we serve.”
Shasta Dam and Reservoir are located about nine miles northwest of Redding, CA on the Sacramento River. Built between 1938 and 1945, the concrete gravity dam provides flood control, power, and water supply benefits. It is the largest reservoir in California with a 4.5 million acre-feet capacity. Shasta Dam and Reservoir are cornerstone to the Central Valley Project that provides water for over 6 million acres of farmland, delivers water to 29 of the 58 counties in California, provides 2.8 billion Kilowatt-hours of surplus power, and makes water available to benefit fish and wildlife.
