Monday October 12, 2026
SJV Water —
Westlands Water District has partnered with the Lemoore Naval Air Station to request $1.8 million in funding from the Department of War in its ongoing efforts to battle invasive golden mussels.
The funding is through the Department of War’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) program, which is aimed at avoiding land-use conflicts around federal bases and increasing base resilience, according to its website.
“Golden mussels threaten water supplies that are critical to operational readiness and mission continuity in support of the U.S. Pacific Fleet,” wrote Westlands spokesperson Jason Mendez in an email.
The money is not a “grant” and has a cost sharing provision, Cynthia Echavarria Baruch, spokesperson for the base, wrote in an email.
Echavarria Baruch would not say what Westlands’ share would be. She wrote that, if the project is selected, the funding would likely be announced in February or March 2027.