San Andreas, CA…Calaveras County Water District (CCWD) had a lot to celebrate during this holiday season. CCWD received news that it will receive additional state funding for their wastewater consolidation project located in West Point, as well as federal funding for their Copper Cove Wastewater Reclamation Facility Project. $9.93 Million for West Point – Wilseyville Wastewater Consolidation Project: The California State Waterboard (Waterboard) previously awarded CCWD $4.75 million for the consolidation of two wastewater treatment facilities located in West Point and Wilseyville. With material and supply costs rising globally, the project budget has doubled over the last year.

CCWD staff have been working closely with the Waterboard who officially approved CCWD’s request to increase the funding amount. The new grant award is now $9.93 million. This will cover the $8.57 million contract CCWD awarded to KW Emerson with the remaining amount going to engineering and construction management.

This is a 100% grant-funded project and serves a designated Disadvantage Community. The new facility will improve the efficiency of the wastewater system, reduce operation and maintenances costs, and will ensure CCWD meets State permitting requirements. KW Emerson started construction this fall with an anticipated two-year construction period.

A Second Consecutive Federal Appropriation of $1 Million for the Copperopolis Wastewater Facility
On December 29th, President Biden signed the $1.7 Trillion Fiscal Year 2023 federal omnibus appropriations bill that included $1 million for CCWD’s Copper Cove Reclamation Facility Improvements Project. The funding comes through an Army Corps of Engineers environmental infrastructure program and CCWD is one of only two agencies in California to receive this type of funding and one of only seven California projects that were not included in the President’s Budget to receive construction funding from Congress.

CCWD is currently working with the Army Corps to push to increase the funding amount from $1m to $5M through the administrative process. CCWD is grateful for the efforts of Congressman McClintock, as well as Senator Padilla and Senator Feinstein, who all played key roles in this successful effort.

The project will raise a dam to increase wastewater storage capacity and replace an aging tertiary filter that enables the district to provide recycled irrigation water and protect ecologically sensitive areas. Last year, CCWD received initial funding of $1M in the omnibus bill for facility improvements.

CCWD Also Secured an Increase in the Total Amount Available for the Copperopolis Wastewater Project from $3M to Over $13M

The total cost for this project is projected to be nearly $20M, yet CCWD was previously eligible for only up to $3M in total federal funding under this program. CCWD worked with its elected representatives to increase the funding authorization in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) to a total of $13.28M. The WRDA language was introduced by Senator Padilla and was included in the final version of the bill.

This has been a multi-year effort by CCWD’s staff, board of directors, and consultant Mia O’Connell. CCWD is honored and thankful to have had continued support from US Representative Tom McClintock, and Senators Diane Feinstein, Alex Padilla, and former Senator Kamala Harris. This would not have been possible without them.

CCWD staff are working closely with the local Sacramento office of the Army Corps and Engineers while this project is in engineering design and environmental review. The project is expected to begin construction in late 2023 and last through 2025.