Water for Power
The State Water Project (SWP) is the is the nation’s largest state-built water and power development and conveyance system. In addition to transporting vital water supplies throughout 2/3 of the state, the SWP produces substantial quantities of hydropower.
Power for Water
The California Water Plan provides a framework for assessing the past and future water resources needed to meet statewide and regional water demands under a variety of scenarios. The scope of the planning effort includes identifying and evaluating the potential outcomes of various strategies for reducing water demand, increasing water supply, reducing flood risk, improving water quality, and protecting ecosystems. The Plan also considers the energy and greenhouse gas intensity of water resource development and management options.
DWR administers multiple grant programs that encourage water utilities to identify strategies for reducing the energy and GHG impacts of their water management decisions.
The Integrated Regional Water Management Planning Act requires “… the integration of flood protection and water systems to achieve multiple public benefits, including:
In addition to providing funding for water planning grants, the Act required inclusion of “… strategies to reduce [energy related] greenhouse gas emissions related to the storage, conveyance, and distribution of water” in the state’s Water Plan.
DWR established two primary objectives for water planning grants:
Reducing energy consumption, “… especially the energy embedded in water use, and ultimately reducing GHG emissions” was identified as an important strategy for mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change on water resources.
The statewide priorities that will determine grant awards include the following types of water-energy nexus opportunities.