California’s leading water agency approved a controversial water infrastructure project to build a tunnel underneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta Thursday, marking a significant step in a decades-long effort to advance it.
Governor Gavin Newsom has insisted that the multi-billion dollar project is needed to protect water supply from the impacts of climate change, even as he faces consistent opposition to the tunnel from the state’s leading environmentalists.
The Department of Water Resources’ approval is expected to usher in months, if not years, of legal challenges to what’s called the Delta Conveyance project. But state officials celebrated it as a step toward modern and affordable water management.
“Today marks another significant milestone in our efforts to modernize state water infrastructure and adapt to the challenges of changing precipitation patterns,” said Karla Nemeth, the department’s director. “The State Water Project is one of the most affordable sources of water in California, and we need to help local water agencies in protecting both reliability and affordability for their ratepayers.”
For decades, water has been pumped directly out of the Delta estuary and shipped south to 30 million Californians and 6 million acres of farmland. But state agencies predict that climate impacts and environmental regulations will lead to a decreasing supply.
State officials say the tunnel is intended to slow that decline by capturing water upstream on the Sacramento River, bypassing the Delta and funneling supplies into the State Water Project. They estimate it would yield about 500,000 acre-feet per year — a significant amount but a fraction of annual water needs.
DWR released its final environmental impact report for the project earlier this month. It found the tunnel’s construction and operations would significantly affect the Delta’s endangered and threatened fish species, tracts of important regional farmland and tribal cultural resources that include human remains.
The final approval was met with support from the municipal and agricultural water agencies that receive water through the State Water Project, calling it a “critical step” to securing California’s water future.
“With this certification, the state is recognizing that the time to modernize the SWP’s infrastructure is now — improving the way we capture and move water during high-flow weather events to store for later use when it’s dry,” said Jennifer Pierre, General Manager of the State Water Contractors, in a statement.
The last time California finalized an environmental impact report for it was in 2016. That project, which constituted a pair of tunnels, stumbled amid high costs and Newsom eventually withdrew support.
Even as a slimmed down version, the price tag for this tunnel will be high and investment from agencies such as Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is critical.
In 2020, the estimated cost of one of the alternate paths was just under $16 billion. Bonds will be issued to fund design and the construction process, and beneficiary water agencies across the state will pay a significant portion.
The Delta, the central hub of California’s water system, is home to hundreds of thousands of people and 415,000 acres of farmland. Its fragile ecosystem has been deteriorating for years as more water is exported or used upstream.
Delta residents, farmers, Native American tribes and environmental groups vigorously oppose the tunnel projects. Opponents say drawing freshwater from the historic region coupled with years of construction will endanger native fish, imperil farms and destroy vulnerable communities.
“We and our broad coalition of partners will engage in all necessary processes, and when necessary, litigation, to stop the Delta Conveyance Project once and for all,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director for Restore the Delta in a statement Thursday.
“Sadly, the Newsom Administration is continuing to waste public dollars and time advancing a project that Californians have rejected for decades and that will not solve our climate water challenge or protect the Bay-Delta estuary,” she added.
With this approval, DWR will now pursue several state and federal permits, including through the Endangered Species Act and a water right required by the State Water Resources Control Board.
