State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP)

State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP)

SWEEP grants encourage producers to reduce both their water consumption and their greenhouse gas emissions. Successful applications   must increase water efficiency and demonstrate the impact that the project will have on emissions. CDFA will award funds up to $200,000 but also encourages applicants to find matching funds.

Eligible practices include:

• Installation of a variable frequency drive
• Pump retrofit or replacement
• Solar panels
• Soil moisture sensors
• Electronic weather station linked to irrigation controller
• Use of evapotranspiration (ET) based irrigation scheduling
• Conversion to micro-irrigation or drip irrigation
• Pump conversion from diesel to electric 
• Conversion to low-pressure irrigation system

What does this look like?

Here are a couple examples of successful SWEEP projects in the Central Valley :

• Vegetables
  • With SWEEP funds, farmer Pao Yang in Fresno County replaced valves and installed drip irrigation throughout the farm, resulting in significant water use and cost savings.
  • He also halved his energy use and thereby significantly decreased his farm’s greenhouse gas emissions.
  • The new, more efficient irrigation system has also decreased the number of weeds, which increases the farm’s profitability.
•  Almonds
  • To see one Kern County grower's SWEEP project, click here
  • Watch one almond grower's video about water efficient solutions here
• Alfalfa
  • The West Star North Dairy received funding to transform the irrigation system of their alfalfa field from flood irrigation to 2-set drip irrigation.
  • They installed a flow meter to measure water use, a new 50hp booster pump with a 50hp variable frequency drive, and a soil moisture probe.
  • The dairy can now decrease their greenhouse gas emissions using the more efficient variable frequency drive and by reducing the amount of flooding in their fields, which can lead to methane emissions. It also increases water use efficiency by installing drip irrigation instead of continuing to use the less efficient flood system.

How to Apply

The grant process includes a web-based application consisting of a series of questions that can be saved and returned to before submitting - click here to start your application.

It is helpful and strongly recommended to obtain the quotes needed for the project and get the pump efficiency test done (if required) before the application opens. As you need them all to complete the application.

Please contact UC Cooperative Extension Climate Smart Agriculture Program specialist Amber Butland at abutland@ucanr.edu for questions or help with the application.