Agricultural Water Infrastructure | STREAM 1 Producer Projects

Description

Stream 1: Improvement, rehabilitation, expansion or new construction of water storage systems for farms (including agricultural dams).

The Agricultural Water Infrastructure Program will help the sector in adapting to climate change by providing incentives for the sector to invest in water infrastructure for adaptation.

The Agricultural Water Infrastructure (AWI) Program is a three-year, up to $20M program, with funding by the Government of BC through the Ministry of Agriculture & Food. The program is delivered by IAF. Through the program, primary and Indigenous Producers, conservation groups, water purveyors and Indigenous Communities will have access to cost-shared funding to adapt to climate change by investing in water infrastructure.

Stream Structure

Within Stream 1: Producer Projects, there are five eligible activities:

1. Rehabilitation and upgrades of (regulated and unregulated) agricultural dams and reservoirs to meet regulatory requirements.
2. Improvement, expansion or new construction of dugouts and related storage infrastructure for irrigation water and livestock watering including rangeland.
3. New construction of other water storage infrastructure.
4. Improvement, expansion or new construction of off-farm conversion of conveyance ditches to pipelines where savings of 30 to 50% can be achieved.
5. Improvement, expansion or new construction of water delivery systems to the farm gate from off-farm storage infrastructure and licensed intakes on streams.

More information about Stream 1 Activities is available below.

Cost-Shared Ratio & Funding Amounts for Stream 1

Minimum Funding Amount	Maximum Funding Amount	Cost-Shared Ratio
$200,000	$1,000,000	50%

Stacking of funds from other government programs is allowed up to 100% of project costs provided the programs are not delivered by IAF.

What does minimum/maximum funding amount mean?

Your Total Project Cost (not including GST, in-kind activities, or any other ineligible items) must be equal to or exceed $400,000. If your Total Project Costs are greater than $2,000,000 you can still apply but will only be reimbursed a maximum of $1,000,000.

IMPORTANT: If your project does not meet or exceed the minimum funding amount at the time of reporting/payment, the project is at risk of cancellation (i.e. if the final reimbursement amount is $199,999, the project may be cancelled).

What’s a cost-shared ratio?

The cost-shared ratio is the respective share of (eligible) Total Project Costs contributed by the applicant and the funder. In this case, 50% of the eligible costs would be paid by the applicant with the remaining 50% paid by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food (via IAF).

 

 

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible Applicants

To be considered eligible for this stream, applicants must be BC-based and an individual producer (i.e., a single farm), including:

• Producer – Cooperative
• Producer – Corporation
• Producer – Limited Liability Company (LLC)
• Producer – Partnership
• Producer – Sole proprietorship
• Indigenous Producer – Limited Liability Company (LLC)
• Indigenous Producer – Partnership
• Indigenous Producer – Sole Proprietorship
• Indigenous Cooperative
• Indigenous Corporation

Individual producers and Indigenous producers who use water for a mix of agricultural and non-agricultural uses are eligible.

Ineligible Participants

The following applicants are not eligible to participate in this stream:

• Non-agricultural individuals or groups (including Seafood/Aquaculture)
• Provincial and federal governments
• Crown Corporations
• Local Government or Regional District
• Irrigation District or Improvement District
• Diking District
• Non-Profit Organization – Agriculture (e.g., industry associations)
• Non-Profit Organization – Conservation
• Water Users’ Community
• Indigenous Community
• Indigenous Governing Body
• Indigenous Organization – For-Profit
• Indigenous Organization – Non-Profit

Ineligible Projects and Activities

The following projects and activities are not eligible for funding or reimbursement in this stream:

• Used Materials
• Activities or costs incurred prior to approval (no retroactive approval permitted)
• In-kind activities
• Activities to support non-agricultural water uses
• Activities not directly related to agricultural water uses
• Purchase of farm equipment and related accessories or attachments (including tractors, skid steers, and trailers)
• Activities that are not compliant with federal, provincial, or local/municipal regulations
• Financial compensation for lost income, production, or land or other associated losses due to water shortages, government orders, or other reasons
• Activities to remove land from the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR)
• Purchase of land or easement
• Regular or ongoing operating or maintenance activities
• Training or educational courses
• Financing charges, loan interest payments, bank fees, and related charges
• Activities currently receiving funding from other funding sources (unless otherwise specified)water allo
• GST and other taxes/credits reimbursed to the applicant
• Wells
• Water quality treatment
• Irrigation systems (new or existing) funded under Beneficial Management Practices Program (BMP 1804)

Activities

In addition to the program requirements, applicants to the Agriculture Water Infrastructure Program – Stream 1: Producer Projects must also meet the following requirements:

• Have completed any required assessments, engineering studies, or plans (within or outside of IAF-delivered programs) before applying for funding.
• Meet all technical, environmental, and regulatory standards and/or requirements, as applicable, before completing a full application.
  • g., a water licence has been issued/amended; documentation from the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship confirming the proposed work is mandatory or recommended, and an authorization has been provided by the Dam Safety Program for the alteration, improvement, or replacement of a dam; approval from the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC).
  • If permits are pending/under review but the application is otherwise complete, IAF will proceed to review the application. However, any approval will be conditional for a maximum of 18 months until all required documentation is received. Conditional offers/approvals will not receive contracts or be able to incur expenses and/or begin activities in their application until their project has met the conditions of approval. Please refer to Review and Adjudication.

Application Requirements

Not all permits need to be in place prior to obtaining a water licence, but all permits must be in place before beginning construction.

Other types of permits or permissions required to install water infrastructure may include, but are not limited to,

• Permits to cross roads governed by the Ministry of Transportation and Transit (MOTT), the Ministry of Forests (FOR), or municipal governments
• Permission to cross utility Right-of-Ways (ROWs)
• Easements or permission to cross private property
• Permission to join shared waterworks system
• BC Hydro permits to run power to pumps
• Permits/approvals from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO)

For questions on the regulatory requirements, please contact FrontCounter BC: