Metropolitan Water District Backs $17 Billion Delta Water Tunnels in Key Vote

The board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California voted Tuesday to support Gov. Jerry Brown’s much-debated plan to build two giant tunnels beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to shore up the state’s water supplies. The Los Angeles-based MWD, Southern California’s water wholesaler, agreed to commit $4.3 billion toward the $17 billion California WaterFix project, despite claims by critics that the project will drive up residents’ water bills as high as $16 a month. Approval of the project ultimately lies with the state’s water boards, and if enough water districts do not vote to fund the tunnels, they will not be built.