Because the Sun Valley project will offer a variety of benefits, it has the potential to attract multiple partners and funding sources. In addition to addressing local flooding this project's mission includes benefits that further the goals of other agencies. Examples include but are not limited to:

Increased water supply
Reduced stormwater pollution
Improved water quality
Clean beaches
TMDL compliance
Improved air quality
Enhanced property values
Reduced green waste hauling and processing
Increased recreation opportunities
Wildlife enhancements

Our current work on project planning, outreach, and Phase 1 project development is funded as we've noted below. The long-term vision is that full implementation will be funded by the benefiting agencies. Tapping these funding sources will help to insure that the project's benefits will be delivered without new assessments of Sun Valley residents.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works has committed $1.6 million in Flood Control District funds towards the development of the Watershed Management Plan for the project. The County Board of Supervisors has also authorized Public Works to set aside approximately $8 million annually for the next five years to provide financing for the project. The total set-aside will approximate the cost of constructing a storm drain to control area flooding.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's Cool Schools program has helped to fund tree plantings on area campuses. The project has also been awarded two CALFED grants and a Murray-Hayden Proposition 12 grant. This website is funded in part by one of the CALFED grants.

The construction of the first Pilot Project, at Sun Valley Park, will be funded by the Flood Control District funds. The project will remedy existing stormwater flooding issues in the park and its vicinity, provide for beneficial use of stormwater via infiltration to the aquifer, assist the City of Los Angeles and other public landholders in the project area in meeting TMDL allocations, and provide direct benefits to the park and its users.

With the participation of over twenty state and federal agencies, the CALFED Bay-Delta Program's mission is to restore ecological health and improve water management in the San Francisco Bay-Sacramento River Delta ecosystem.

CALFED sees the Sun Valley project as a model for urban watershed management that will impact the Bay-Delta environment both directly and indirectly. Widely implemented, the practices that will comprise the Sun Valley plan could reduce Southern California's thirst for imported water.

CALFED awarded the County Department of Public Works a $430,000 grant towards the development of a Watershed Management Plan for Sun Valley. TreePeople received $350,000 for an education and outreach program. Quarterly newsletters, this website, town hall meetings, and the preparation of classroom materials for Sun Valley students are some of the elements of that program.

TreePeople was recently awarded a $473,000 Murray-Hayden grant. This funding will be used towards the Pilot project at Sun Valley Park. The Murray-Hayden program provides funds for local parks and recreation projects in underserved communities.

Cool Schools unites the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the L.A. Unified School District and five nonprofit groups in the largest school-based tree planting effort in the City's history. Thanks in part to funding from the Cool Schools program, TreePeople has been planting trees at schools across Los Angeles. In Sun Valley, five elementary schools are already seeing the benefits of campus greening. Planting trees helps schools realize energy savings, stormwater runoff reductions, air quality improvements, and campus cooling benefits.

The Sun Valley Watershed Stakeholders Group keeps abreast of funding opportunities and will file applications when appropriate. Two recent examples are described here.

To help fund Tuxford Green, the Phase 1 site at San Fernando and Tuxford, the group has applied for a $250,000 Caltrans Environmental Enhancement & Mitigation Program grant. One of the target areas for this grant is projects designed to improve air quality through the planting of trees and other plants.

Additionally, an application has been submitted to the State Water Resources Control Board for a Clean Beaches Initiative grant. Funded by Proposition 13, CBI grants focus on reducing health risks and increasing public access to clean beaches.