SEQUIM — The plan to create a reservoir along the Dungeness River to supplement streamflow and aquifer recharge efforts during the dry months has just been awarded its first big funding grant.

A $4 million grant from the Department of Ecology, applied for by Clallam County, will go toward three phases of the project.

Here’s Jason Hatch, Senior Project Manager of the Washington Water Trust.

The Dungeness Off-Channel Reservoir would capture river flows during the winter, and then that water would be released in the late summer months for irrigation and other benefits.

In addition to the reservoir itself, a public park is also included in the plan. Funding for that would likely come from a state RCO grant. To apply for that, the County will need to first hear from the public about what they’d like to see.

Commissioner Mark Ozias says we’ll be hearing a lot more about that phase of the project this year.

The Reservoir Project has been a ten-year effort by a coalition of project partners called the Dungeness Reservoir Working Group. It includes Clallam County, City of Sequim, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Dungeness Water Users Association, Clallam Conservation District, Washington Department of Ecology and the Washington Water Trust.