Delta tunnels won’t take northern California’s water, say officials

Will Gov. Jerry Brown’s $17 billion Delta tunnels divert water to Southern California that belongs to northern Californians? No, according to papers filed this week by state and federal officials — an assertion challenged by environmentalists, who are filing their own paperwork.

Months of contentious public hearings start July 27. This first set of hearings will focus on water rights; a second set of hearings, scheduled for 2017, will debate the tunnels’ impact on the environment.