MARYSVILLE, CA (MPG) - On June 4, the Yuba Water Agency Board of Directors approved increasing the maximum funding for rescue equipment and specialized training for Yuba County first responder agencies from $10,000 to $20,000, as well as other changes to its Community Impact Grant and Loan Program.

In 2017, Yuba Water employee Bill Shaw was involved in an accident while on the job at one of the agency’s more remote facilities. Even before returning to work, Shaw played a key role in pushing forward the Rescue Equipment and Training Grant Program, which was named in his honor. His vision was to support the responders that saved his life, as well as those that Yuba Water relies upon during incidents.

Seven years later, Yuba Water has approved grants totaling more than $408,000 to Yuba County's first responders through the Bill Shaw Grant program.

“Bill Shaw’s vision was a great one,” said Andy Vasquez, Yuba Water board director and county supervisor for District 1, who is also a former law enforcement officer. “His vision inspired us to develop this program, which is making such a big difference for our public safety agencies – and that is really impacting our communities directly with improved services.”

The Bill Shaw grants are available to first responder agencies in Yuba County and can now cover up to $20,000 per applicant each year for rescue equipment or specialized personnel training. To qualify, the planned purchases do need to be related to Yuba Water’s mission areas.

In addition to doubling the funding amount for the Bill Shaw Grant program, other policy changes include breaking the grants and loans into two overarching categories, one focused on funding for projects related to Yuba Water’s core missions without a pre-defined maximum amount (previously it was set at $10 million per year). The other category is to support the areas of watershed resilience, water education, water conservation and the Bill Shaw grants, with a maximum annual allocation for those categories at $2.5 million. This change was instituted to ensure the smaller grants aren’t being turned away because of a lack of funding, as it is hard for them to compete for the same dollars as those large investments in Yuba Water’s core mission areas, like flood risk reduction and water supply.   

Learn more about the Bill Shaw grants and Community Impact Grant and Loan Policy at yubawater.org.