Southern California’s mammoth water agency appeared ready to plow ahead with the Delta tunnels project Tuesday, despite a “no” vote by a giant bloc of San Joaquin Valley farmers that could doom the $17 billion proposal. The Metropolitan Water District’s board of directors signaled that it’s ready to vote Oct. 10 on whether to pay for about one-fourth of the tunnels project, a $4 billion commitment. Metropolitan’s general manager, Jeff Kightlinger, urged directors to proceed with a vote as a way of determining whether the controversial project can be salvaged.