Harvest Water EcoPlan
Harvest Water will deliver up to 50,000 acre-feet per year of reliable, high-quality recycled water to agricultural lands and existing wildlife habitat in southern Sacramento County.
Harvest Water’s main funding source, the Proposition 1 Water Storage Investment Program (WSIP), was awarded largely due to the ecological benefits that will accompany the delivery of recycled water. To provide these public benefits, SacSewer has been working with local landowners, stakeholders, partners, and wildlife professionals to develop the Harvest Water EcoPlan.
The EcoPlan is a carefully designed framework, driven by local engagement with the agricultural community, for achieving and monitoring the water quality and ecosystem benefits associated with WSIP funding. This approach supports sustainable agriculture and facilitates land and water management activities.
In collaboration with interested landowners, the EcoPlan will provide long-term support and technical assistance for working lands that can also implement habitat management activities to help realize Harvest Water’s ecological benefits. Here are some examples of how EcoPlan implementation will benefit the community:
- Work directly with landowners to enhance existing pasture, grasslands, wetlands, and riparian habitats through forage improvements, revegetation, and weed management plans
- Strengthen existing wildlife-friendly agricultural management activities and provide winter roosting and foraging habitat for Sandhill cranes
- Improve the Cosumnes River fall flows, which will benefit fall-run Chinook Salmon
- Assist with infrastructure (such as fencing for riparian corridors or berms for Sandhill crane habitat) and habitat management practices that can be mutually beneficial to working lands and wildlife habitat
Harvest Water strives to keep lands south of Elk Grove in economically viable agricultural production while cooperatively enhancing existing wildlife habitat. Lands eligible for EcoPlan consideration include annual crop fields, irrigated pasture, grazing lands, and lands with existing wetlands and riparian forests. If you own or lease land in the southern Sacramento County region and are interested in learning more about participating in the EcoPlan, please contact the Harvest Water team.
