Cal Poly and a SLO County town want state water. They may have secured $13 million to get it

Congressman Salud Carbajal announced the House and Senate have agreed on the biennial U.S. Army Corps of Engineers water project bill called the Water Resources Development Act that this year includes $8 million to build a 2.5-mile pipeline that would connect Los Osos to the State Water Project.

The 12-inch pipeline would connect to the existing pipeline near Morro Bay and would bring Northern California reservoir water to the Central Coast.

Also in the measure, Cal Poly spokesperson Matt Lazier said the college worked with Carbajal to secure authorizing language in the bill to build a turnout and 1.1-mile pipeline to the city of San Luis Obispo’s water treatment facility located at the north end of Cal Poly’s main campus.

Funding will still need to be sought in an appropriation request.

“The Cal Poly project will allow interconnection for between 100 and 400 acre-feet of state water to allow for future housing growth on campus as well as providing significant resilience to Cal Poly and the city of San Luis Obispo,” Lazier said.

Cal Poly already owns a 9% capacity share in the city’s water treatment plant, and this additional water supply could be integrated into the existing water distribution with minimal additional treatment, Lazier said.

Los Osos ‘in the home stretch’ on pipeline project

For Los Osos the news is a game changer.

Los Osos is 100% dependent on rain-fed groundwater for its drinking supply and an additional supply will be welcome, said Ron Munds, general manager of the Los Osos Community Services District which is shepherding the project.

“Assuming the President signs the bill, the project still needs the Army Corps of Engineers review and approval,” Munds said.

According to Greg Hass, a Carbajal media representative, that will probably be in March.

“I will be reaching out to the Corps to get the project on their radar even though the bill hasn’t been signed,” Munds. “We’re in the home stretch but it’s still not finalized.”

The Los Osos CSD would likely negotiate for a water supply with the county who has a contract with state water and a surplus allotment.

Munds has previously said the community of 14,000 would need 200 acre-feet annually that would be sunk to replenish the groundwater supply or traded for groundwater not pumped.

In a statement in late November, Carbajal announced that multiple local projects will be funded.

The U.S. House of Representatives advanced a bipartisan deal reached between the House and the Senate on legislation containing more than $53 million in Central Coast water projects championed by Carbajal.

The deal authorizes funding for water projects in Ventura, Los Osos, Los Olivos, Montecito and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

“Water infrastructure is critical to the continued functioning of our communities on the Central Coast,” Carbajal said. “As a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I have worked this year to see critical projects in our communities approved by Congress to ensure we invest in clean, accessible water access for all of our residents.

What Central Coast projects will Corps of Engineers water act help fund?

The Water Resources Development Act is biennial legislation crafted by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Program to carry out projects to improve the nation’s ports and harbors, inland waterway navigation, flood and storm protection and other aspects of our water resources infrastructure.

The bill supports locally driven projects that also deliver regional and national benefits to strengthen the United States’ global competitiveness and supply chain, grow the economy, move goods throughout the country, protect communities from flooding and more.

The final version of the act follows negotiations over recent months to reconcile House- and Senate-passed versions of the legislation.

Central Coast projects authorized by the 2024 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) are:

• $18.25 million for the City of Ventura’s Seaside Transfer Station
• $18.25 million for improvements at Montecito Sanitary District’s Water Treatment Plant
• $8 million for the Los Osos Water Pipeline Project
• $5 million for the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Canyon State Water Pipeline project
• $4 million for wastewater processing upgrades at the Los Olivos Community Service District

John Lindt is the editor of the news website Sierra2theSea.net.