Southern California water agency votes to keep funding state tunnel plans
LOS ANGELES — A Southern California water agency has approved key funding needed to support plans for a giant underground tunnel that would divert much of the state’s water supply.
The board of the Southern California Metropolitan Water District, which along with local agencies provides water to 19 million people, voted Tuesday to allocate about $142 million for pre-construction and planning costs for the Delta Conveyance Project. State officials say the project is critical to help support water supplies in the nation’s most populous state due to aging infrastructure and climate change-driven shifts in precipitation.
“After careful consideration, our board has taken this step because it allows us to gather critical information about the benefits and costs of the project, which will allow us to assess whether we will participate in the full construction of the project,” said Adán Ortega, chairman of the Metropolitan board. said Jr. in a statement.
Metropolitan is the largest of a dozen water agencies that voted to continue funding the preconstruction and planning of the 45-mile water project. tunnel. A key vote is expected in 2027 on whether to move forward.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has advocated for water agencies to continue providing funding for what he has called “the most important climate adaptation project” in the country.
“Nothing else comes close because nothing is more important,” he said earlier this week. “Because this impacts 27 million Californians.”
California officials want to build the tunnel amid concerns about the reliability of existing water infrastructure, saying it will help capture more water during massive storms and move it from the northern part of the state to the south, where most residents of live in the state. But critics say the project is $20 billion the price tag is too high and there are other ways to strengthen the state’s water system with less impact on the fragile ecosystem of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta, said the tunnel is intended to transfer excess water to agricultural operations that would have to scale back water use as the state faces a potentially drier future. California grows much of the country’s fresh produce.
“There are certain elements that just want to build things for the sake of building, rather than doing the analysis to build the right things,” she said.
The tunnel has been proposed – and doubtful — for years, with widespread opposition from Central Valley communities who say it would hurt their economies and the Delta. Last year the state completed a major environmental review for the project, but it must still undergo additional review and obtain several state and federal permits.