Palo Verde Valley community improvement program announces first grant recipients

Officials announced today the first three beneficiaries of a new program launched last year to support and strengthen the Palo Verde Valley community as local farmers temporarily fallow part of their land to conserve water and help stabilize the Colorado River.

The Community Enhancement Collaborative grant program, started by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and Palo Verde Irrigation District, will provide $8 million in funding to small businesses, public agencies and other community organizations for projects and programs that support the greater Palo Verde Valley community. The first three grant recipients are:

• $100,000 for the Blythe Cancer Resource Center for resources and patient care. Blythe Cancer Resource Center is a nonprofit that provides financial assistance to individuals with cancer.
• $180,167 for the Blythe Police Department for the purchase of a new marine patrol boat to patrol boating and other recreational water users on the Colorado River. The grant will allow the department to replace their current boat, which has been in service for more than 10 years.
• $35,000 for the Palo Verde Historical Museum and Society for operations and repairs to their building. The museum offers exhibits and artifacts focused on the history of Blythe and the surrounding valley.

"Each of these organizations is committed to helping the people of the Palo Verde Valley - keeping them safe, bringing them healthcare, and building community. That is precisely what this program was launched to do," said Cynthia Kurtz, CEC co-chair and director on Metropolitan's board.

Metropolitan and PVID started the CEC after landowners in the Palo Verde Valley agreed in 2024 to fallow nearly 26,000 acres of farmland - approximately 30% of valley farmland - for three years, under an agreement between PVID, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Metropolitan. The agreement builds on a long-standing fallowing program between Metropolitan and PVID, through which farmers are paid to refrain from irrigating a portion of their land.

"Palo Verde farmers are supporting the entire Colorado River Basin by significantly reducing their water use through fallowing. We are, in turn, supporting the community that surrounds them with these grants. As we grapple with less water in the river, we must all work together to forge solutions that bring the greatest benefit with the least harm," said Nisha Noroian, CEC co-chair and director on PVID's board.

The Community Enhancement Collaborative grant program builds on a Community Improvement Fund established when Metropolitan and PVID first forged their land fallowing agreement in 2005. Metropolitan launched the Community Improvement Fund by providing $6 million to the non-profit agency in 2007. It has since provided dozens of loans to local small businesses and grants to organizations that support workforce training and small business development in the Palo Verde Valley, supporting the creation and retention of hundreds of jobs.

The Community Enhancement Collaborative expects to announce the next round of grants in the coming weeks. The program continues to accept grant applications. More information is available on the CEC's website.