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A scenic spot along the Sacramento River is quickly becoming ground zero in the fight over California’s water future as the new California WaterFix project is generating strong reactions. We are absolutely opposed to the Tunnels,” one Delta resident said. The Twin Tunnels are a big part of the revised California WaterFix.

The new plan would draw fresh water out of the Sacramento River from three intake points between Clarksburg and Hood. Eventually, the tunnels would divert the water through the Delta to protect endangered fish before ultimately supplying 25 million people surrounding Los Angeles with California’s most precious resource.

The first day of a months-long hearing that could determine the fate of the controversial twin tunnels provided no answers on Tuesday — nor was it expected to.But dozens of comments made by citizens, activist groups and water agencies showed just how divided the state is on the proposed $15 billion Delta “fix.”Tuesday’s testimony before the State Water Resources Control Board also revealed how diverse the Stockton-area opposition to the project has become. The tunnels are no longer a battleground solely for farmers and environmentalists of the old peripheral canal days.

A plan to have fresh water from an ocean desalination plant flowing into the system by October in Santa Barbara is behind schedule and that’s causing concerns.  A new schedule shows drinking water won’t be produced, tested and approved until January.

A city report says above ground supplies are dwindling, and eight under ground wells are in service citywide. Conservation goals during the Stage Three drought conditions need to remain at or above 35 percent according to Water Resources Manager Joshua Haggmark.

 

Water regulators have begun public hearings on California Governor Jerry Brown’s $15 billion twin tunnel project, known as California Waterfix. The project aims to provide a more reliable water supply for millions of Californians.

The public hearings that began Tuesday at the State Water Resources Control Board are supposed to be narrow in focus – the board must determine whether building three new water intakes on the Sacramento River would harm other water users or the environment.

Long before wind and solar, water was the nation’s top renewable energy source. Going back some 100 years, the United States built enormous dams — like the Depression-era Hoover Dam in Nevada — to produce tremendous amounts of energy.

We have so many such dams that hydropower last year remained our fourth largest source of electricity overall and our single largest renewable source, providing 6 percent of Americans’ electricity. Yet it’s rarely talked about and lacks the excitement attached to other renewables. That’s in part because dams are controversial and can have major environmental consequences, affecting wildlife and altering local ecosystems.