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KUNC is among the founding partners of the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration of public media stations that serve the Western states of Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

Nearly $585 million to support dozens of western water projects in coming fiscal year

Behind a chain-link fence, a waterway streches to the horizon with shrubby banks on either side and a multi-story office building on the right bank
Adam Cotterell
/
Boise State Public Radio
An endeavor to make improvements on the New York Canal in Idaho is one of 83 projects set to receive federal support in the coming fiscal year.

Dozens of water infrastructure projects in 11 mostly-Western states are set to get $585 million in federal funding over the next fiscal year.

That money comes from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Over five years, it will provide $8.3 billion to repair and improve things like dams and canals—as well as increase drought resilience.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is bringing every tool and every resource to bear, ensuring that we both minimize the impacts of drought and develop a long-term plan to facilitate conservation and economic growth,” Deputy Secretary of the Interior Tommy Beaudreau said on a Wednesday press call.

There are three projects totaling more than $6 million slated for Idaho in fiscal year 2023. They include trail rehabilitation at Lake Cascade State Park and lining six miles of the New York Canal. Federal money will also support a number of projects in Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada.

The full list of FY 2023 projects can be found here.

We at the Bureau of Reclamation are so grateful for this generational investment and we are hard at work on projects that have long awaited this sort of funding.”

In addition to the infrastructure law, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act is expected to provide another $4.6 billion to address water infrastructure and drought issues, according to a federal release.

Copyright 2023 Boise State Public Radio News. To see more, visit Boise State Public Radio News.

Murphy Woodhouse
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