The pace of activity related to the California WaterFix project has stepped up considerably in the last few weeks, and several major developments have arisen. Those developments included the resumption of the Part 2 hearings, the issuance of a major ruling by the State Water Resources Control Board, the revelation that the Metropolitan Water District is examining the option of funding a majority of the cost of a two-tunnel solution and the release of an long-awaited economic analysis of the project.

Damage to the main and emergency spillways of the Oroville Dam in California, triggered in February 2017 by heavy rain that was part of Northern California’s wettest winter in almost 100 years, has brought to light several lessons that hydropower and dam engineers can learn from the disaster. The cost to repair the spillway has reached $870 million, according to the state’s Department of Water Resources (DWR), as repair work has discovered numerous defects in the original construction from the 1960s.

Farmers in a West Side water district once again face a curtailed water supply in 2018. The respite of 2017, when growers in federal agencies such as the Del Puerto Water District enjoyed a full water allocation after several years of receiving little to no deliveries through the Central Valley Project, was short-lived. The federal Bureau of Reclamation announced last week that south-of-the-delta users such as Del Puerto will receive 20 percent of their full contract allocation this year. That allocation could be revised upward if conditions improve.

Delta interests will ask a judge Friday to put a stop to the ongoing twin tunnels hearings in Sacramento, alleging that improper communication has taken place between project proponents and evaluators. The city of Stockton, San Joaquin County, other Delta government agencies and environmental groups are asking for a temporary restraining order to stop the hearing until their claims can be investigated in greater detail. In court papers, they argue that the conduct of state officials “threatens both the property rights of millions of citizens and the environment.”

Sacramento County is leading a lawsuit accusing state officials of holding illegal secret meetings about the controversial Delta tunnels project. The county, joined by the city of Stockton, several Delta water agencies and a group of environmental organizations, sued the State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday. The suit claims officials with the state water board met privately and illegally as far back as 2015 with representatives of the California Department of Water Resources and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the lead agencies planning the tunnels.