Select Water Committee backs 77 small water projects; staff to study program efficiency

The Select Water Committee on March 6 recommended account 1 and account 2 contracts under the Small Water Project Program after a presentation by program administrator Jody Pavlica.

Pavlica said the program awards 50% grants up to $35,000 for small construction projects such as ponds, wells, solar platforms, pipelines, springs, wetlands and stream-bank stability work, irrigation projects with public benefit, rural fire-suppression systems, recreational projects and guzzlers. She told the committee the office received 77 applications this year and that staff determined one application was outside the criteria and another required reconfiguration after geologic review.

Pavlica described a 'shovel-ready' marker in the recommendation table that gives priority to projects that are ready to begin construction as soon as contracts are signed. She also provided district-level totals: for example, Little Snake River Conservation District had 25 Account 1 projects totaling $731,000; Laramie County submitted six Account 1 projects totaling $173,000; other districts listed account-level totals in the packet. The transcript lists many per-district subtotals in the meeting materials.

Director Jason Mead confirmed the funding for the small water accounts was part of the omnibus construction bill and noted the committee typically invites sponsors to attend the Commission meeting if questions arise. The committee voted to recommend the Account 1 and Account 2 projects by roll call (recorded as 10 ayes and 2 excused).

Mead also said the Legislature accepted an amendment directing the office to perform a deeper review of the Small Water Project Program to look for ways to streamline or increase efficiency; staff plans to present the results at an August interim meeting.

The committee forwarded the recommendations to the Wyoming Water Development Commission for final review on March 18.