Aguilar gathered with multiple Inland Empire water agencies at the Seven Oaks Dam to announce $2.5 million in federal funding.
Recent snow and rain have cut the drought by as much as half in some places across California. Aguilar said that relying on the rain is not a sustainable way to combat the drought.
"We have so much work to do making sure we capture the groundwater that is behind [Seven Oaks] this dam and that has come down and rained upon our local mountains," said Aguilar.
The money will be used to increase the amount of stormwater from the Santa Ana River that can be captured and recharged from the Seven Oaks Dam.