Harvest Water EcoPlan
Harvest Water will deliver up to 50,000 acre-feet per year of tertiary-treated recycled water for agricultural irrigation and existing wildlife habitat in southern Sacramento County, allowing local agricultural operations to pump less groundwater and offer natural recovery in the groundwater basin.
Harvest Water is made possible largely through funding from California’s Proposition 1 Water Storage Investment Program, which supports projects that provide public benefits, including ecological ones. This allows Harvest Water to work with interested farmers and ranchers to implement specialized habitat management activities through the Harvest Water EcoPlan.
EcoPlan is a way to manage land and water activities by:
- Striving to keep south Sacramento County agricultural lands economically viable
- Supporting existing farming operations
- Protecting existing habitat
Here are some examples of how Harvest Water EcoPlan implementation will benefit the community:
- Assisting with infrastructure – such as fencing, forage improvement, and weed management that can be mutually beneficial to working lands and wildlife habitat
- Enhancing existing wetlands and riparian habitats with practices such as revegetation and weed management
- Strengthening existing wildlife-friendly agricultural management activities and providing winter roosting and foraging habitat for Sandhill cranes
- Providing recycled water at no charge for qualified practices
- Improving the Cosumnes River fall flows, which will benefit fall-run Chinook salmon
Participation in EcoPlan can be arranged with interested farmers and ranchers who own or lease land on eligible parcels within the Harvest Water EcoPlan Benefit Area. Lands eligible for EcoPlan consideration include:
- Annual crop fields or fallowed fields
- Irrigated and non-irrigated pasture
- Lands with existing wetland and riparian areas
If you own or lease land in the Harvest Water area and are interested in learning more about EcoPlan, please contact John “JJ” Gonsalves, EcoPlan Implementation Specialist, EcoPlan@sacsewer.com or (916)-876-3322
