The Santa Clarita Valley’s water suppliers have been approved to receive more than $7 million from the California Department of Water Resources to help fund a local water recycling program, invasive species removal and other conservation projects.

The Castaic Lake Water Agency made the announcement Friday. CLWA is one of 29 contractors throughout California that receive state water from the department.

Of the total $7,196,000 in Proposition 84 grant funding, $266,000 will be used for technical studies of climate change and salt management, and $6.93 million to implement programs identified in the Regional Water Management Plan for the Upper Santa Clara River area.

Those programs include water use efficiency plans, the removal of a sewer trunk line from the Santa Clara River bed, a southern SCV recycled water project, and the removal of arundo and tamarisk from the Santa Clarita River and San Francisquito Creek.

The recipient of the money is the Upper Santa Clara River Regional Water Management Group, a consortium of CLWA and its Santa Clarita Water Division, the SCV Sanitation District, the city of Santa Clarita, the L.A. County Flood Control District, Newhall County Water District, Valencia WAter Co. and the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy.

“DWR’s $6.93 million funding recommendation represents a significant saving to the residents of the Santa Clarita Valley,” CLWA President Tom Cambell said in a statement.

Updating the Regional Water Management Plan will be an extensive process involving numerous stakeholder meetings, CLWA officials said. A kickoff meeting will be held in late October. For information call Lauren Everett at CLWA, 661-297-1600 ext. 282.