Who: Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner John Keys Yuma County Water Users' Association Manager Don Pope Gila Gravity Main Canal Board Member Bill Plummer

What: Commissioner Keys will recognize the Gila Gravity Main Canal Board and the Yuma County Water Users' Association for receipt of a Water 2025 Challenge Grant.

When: Friday, September 3, 9:20 a.m. Media availability at 9:50 a.m.

Where: Yuma County Water Users' Association complex board room, 3800 W. County 15th Street. A 60-minute tour of Association field sites will follow the media availability.

Why: The grants will help the two entities implement water conservation and efficiency improvement projects on their water delivery systems. The Gila Gravity Main Canal Board received a $284,000 grant, and the Yuma County Water Users' Association received a $246,221 grant. Together, the two projects will save up to 65,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water a year.

The Water 2025 Challenge Grants -- administered by the Bureau of Reclamation -- provide local irrigation districts throughout the West with matching funds to support a variety of projects to make more efficient use of existing water supplies through water conservation, efficiency, and water market projects.