From the Department of Water Resources:
Modernizing the infrastructure that delivers clean, affordable water to 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland across the state is no small feat. The specifics of planning and implementing such a project are complex, dynamic and sometimes contentious. Due to these complexities, foundational elements grounded in fact are often mischaracterized or misrepresented, whether intentionally or not. Funding, permitting and other decisions related to the Delta Conveyance Project should be made based on factual information, supported by science and data, not political and personal agendas. Here are a few foundational facts about the Delta Conveyance Project:
- FACT: The project has already completed the CEQA process. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) conducted an extensive environmental review process under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for the Delta Conveyance Project starting in 2020 and concluding with project approval and certification at the end of 2023. This process included public review, resulting in thousands of comments that informed the ultimate project description, impact assessment and associated mitigation measures. To claim otherwise, discounts the work of not only project proponents but every individual, organization, association and others who took the time to review and comment as part of this process. More information about the project’s CEQA review can be found here.
- FACT: Fixing levees will not adapt the State Water Project to climate change. Solely upgrading levees is not a realistic way to protect the reliability of State Water Project deliveries. It would not address rising sea levels, would not address changing precipitation patterns and extreme weather events, and would not guard water supplies against earthquake. The existing State Water Project facilities are currently limited to one diversion point in the South Delta that will continue to be constrained by its location, fish and water quality restrictions, and capacity. Upgrading levees would not resolve those limitations. However, DWR has invested millions of dollars to reinforce Delta levees through various projects and programs and will continue to support these efforts.
- FACT: The project would be funded only by the public water agencies that receive water from the State Water Project, not through the state’s General Fund and not by state taxes.
- FACT: Local water projects and alternative supplies can’t make up the difference between anticipated State Water Project losses and future needs. We need to modernize our current system AND use water more efficiently, recycle it, and, where feasible, create new sources with desalination. But no single approach will protect water supplies, and no single approach works in a vacuum. We need to do many things, all at once – including upgrading the infrastructure that delivers a large share of the water supply to a majority of Californians. While local projects can help reduce reliance on moving water across the state, it will still be necessary in the future to capture water along the Sierra Nevada mountains for communities in the Bay Area, Central Valley, Central Coast and Southern California. The Delta Conveyance Project is specifically designed to do that by modernizing the State Water Project. Other approaches are needed but they will not protect the longevity and reliability of the State Water Project. The State Water Project also provides a foundational baseline supply for these important local water supply and resiliency projects. We must take a “yes, and” approach to meet all of California’s diverse and varied needs consistent with the Governor’s Water Supply Strategy and Water Resilience Portfolio.
Resources & Additional Information
ICYMI:
CEQA Final EIR Addendum 2
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) is preparing an Incidental Take Permit amendment application regarding minor engineering refinements and additional information relating to the project’s Incidental Take Permit. To analyze this amendment application, DWR prepared a Second Addendum to the project’s Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) which found there are no changes to the impact conclusions presented in the EIR. More information here.
