Feds Join Push For Water Tunnels

Sacramento, CA – The Obama Administration has stepped up its support for the Governor’s Delta water tunnel project.

The $15.7 billion tunnels would be built under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to send water south.  The State Water Resources Control Board is holding hearings on the project, as it must approve the plans.  The hearings began Tuesday in Sacramento with Letty Belin of the U.S. Interior Department telling regulators that California’s water challenges are a priority to the administration.

Additionally, California Natural Resources Agency Secretary John Laird stressed that the current set-up does not work for the environment or Californians dependent on the water. Opponents also weighed in countering that the tunnels will harm the delta and could be costly for taxpayers.

As reported last week, the project jumped another hurdle after the state supreme court ruled against some area farmers who had argued that the state Department of Water Resources (DWR) should have to compensate property owners in order to conduct preliminary tests for the project, claiming the surveys would be lengthy and invasive.

The hearings could last for several months as the boards schedule shows them running through January 2017.