State Plans To Stagger Construction Of $16 Billion Delta Water Tunnels

State water officials announced Wednesday they will pursue staged construction of a proposed multibillion-dollar water-delivery project, leaving water agencies in Southern California to decide if they want to continue supporting the effort. The $16.3 billion project, known as California WaterFix, would divert water from the Sacramento River as it enters the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and carry it to existing federal and state pumping stations in the southern part of the delta through two 35-mile tunnels.