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About Water Use Efficiency

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Lords Lake About Water Use Efficiency

  • Provides expertise to local agencies and individuals regarding agricultural and urban water and energy conservation, reclamation and reuse of water, land and water use, and drainage management.

  • Manages the California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS), which collects data from over 140 automated weather stations throughout the State. CIMIS provides reference evapotranspiration (ETo) and weather data to the public for irrigation scheduling and other purposes such as water balance analyses, pest management, energy generation, fire fighting, weather forecasting, and scientific research.

  • Assists in establishing mobile laboratories that conduct irrigation system evaluations.

  • Carries out data analysis, demonstration projects, and research to achieve energy and water use efficiency.

  • Provides loans and grants to make more efficient use of water and energy resources.

Latest News

    Urban Water Management

  • Independent Technical Panel on Demand Management Measures - "The Independent Technical Panel (ITP) on Demand Management Measures will meet on May 21, 2013. The ITP will meet to ratify their charter, discuss Bagley Keene Open Meeting Act requirements, select Demand Management Measure topics, select future meeting dates and meeting agenda for the July meeting. Meeting Details.

    • Agricultural Water Management

  • Guidebook, AWMP template, and worksheets to assist agricultural water suppliers to prepare a 2012 agricultural water management plan. - agricultural water supplies must prepare and adopt an Agricultural Water Management Plan on or before December 31, 2012, update it on December 31, 2015, and on or before December 31 every five years thereafter. It must submit the plan to the entities identified in Water Code Section 10843. Copies of amendments or changes to the plans must be submitted to the entities identified in WC 10843(b) no later than 30 days after the adoption of the amendments or changes. This guidebook will assist agricultural water suppliers in completing their plans, and expedite DWR's review of the plans.

  • Agricultural Water Measurement Regulation - On July 11, 2012, OAL approved the permanent Agricultural Water Measurement Regulation (Title 23, Division 2 of the California Code of Regulations, Chapter 5.1, Sections 597, 597.1, 597.2, 597.3, and 597.4). The Regulation was effective July 11, 2012.

  • Final 2012 Agricultural Water Use Efficiency Grants - Approximately $15 million in grant funding is available under this funding cycle. Proposals are currently being reviewed and evaluated. Additional information is available at:
    http://www.water.ca.gov/wateruseefficiency/finance/2012agricultural_psp.cfm.

    • Cimis

  • CIMIS GOES Dish and Receiver Installation. During December 3, 2012 – December 7, 2012, the California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS) staff, assisted by other DWR staff from DTS and O&M, installed a satellite dish and receiver for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary Operational and Environmental Satellite (GOES). The dish was installed on the roof at the North Central Region Office building in West Sacramento. Data from the satellite will be used by the Spatial CIMIS model to produce daily maps of reference evapotranspiration (ETo) and solar radiation at 2-km grid for the entire State of California, which are available to the public via the CIMIS web site and web services. The Spatial CIMIS ETo is calculated by coupling remotely sensed data from the GOES with interpolated weather parameters from individual CIMIS stations. The Spatial CIMIS model was developed by DWR and UC Davis and the installation of the GOES dish and box is part of an ongoing project to move the product to DWR.

    • Desalination

  • DWR will be seeking grant proposals for desalination projects to support brackish water and seawater desalination as a water supply or quality option. DWR has prepared a draft Proposal Solicitation Package (PSP) which describes the grant application process for potential grant applicants. A draft version of the PSP is now available at http://www.water.ca.gov/desalination/2013DesalGrants.cfm for review and comment. Comments on the draft PSP can be submitted to DWR until Friday, February 8 at 5pm, 2013.

  • Two public workshops will be held during the public review period to receive comments on the Draft PSP and to provide information about this PSP, including application requirements, application submittal process, and criteria for review and selection of applications.  One meeting will be in Chino and the other meeting will be held in Sacramento. The meeting in Sacramento is planned to be available as a webinar. Additional information is available at http://www.water.ca.gov/desalination/2013DesalGrants.cfm.