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A controversial proposal to build a 14-mile underground tunnel to transport water from Northern California southward got a boost from the state Court of Appeals, which ruled that preliminary work can begin on the project.

Last year, a judge in Sacramento County agreed with a collection of counties, water districts, environmental groups and native tribes seeking to stop the Delta Conveyance Project. The judge found that preconstruction geotechnical work had to be certified by a state agency before it could begin, and issued a preliminary injunction preventing that work from moving forward.

 

A controversial proposal to build a 14-mile underground tunnel to transport water from Northern California southward got a boost from the state Court of Appeals, which ruled that preliminary work can begin on the project.

Last year, a judge in Sacramento County agreed with a collection of counties, water districts, environmental groups and native tribes seeking to stop the Delta Conveyance Project. The judge found that preconstruction geotechnical work had to be certified by a state agency before it could begin, and issued a preliminary injunction preventing that work from moving forward.

California’s water year runs from Oct. 1 through the end of September. California ended the 2023-24 water year with almost every major storage reservoir above historical average for the date, and we began the 2024-25 water year with the biggest October storm in many years. The State Water Resources Control Board raised the allocation of water from the State Water Project to 50% of maximum earlier this year. Anything above 40% usually allows state water contractors like the Metropolitan Water District to make water available for storage. Our local water providers took advantage of the extra water to help recharge regional aquifers. With robust surface and underground storage levels California is in a good position to withstand several back-to-back dry years when they happen. If this is a wet winter, additional water can be placed in storage for use in future dry years.

In California’s Central Valley, an ambitious project is transforming the way we think about renewable energy by installing solar panels across canals instead of on land. The $20 million pilot, called Project Nexus, has turned sections of the Turlock Irrigation District (TID) canal network into clean electricity generators.

Completed in August 2025, this 1.6-megawatt installation is the first of its kind in the state and only the second in the United States. The idea behind this project is simple but powerful. Instead of covering farmland or natural habitats with solar farms, why not use the open space above canals to produce electricity?

A climate innovation we first told you about here on ABC7 News is up and running.

It’s California’s first solar-covered water canal. The advantages it offers could fast track the future of solar power.