Colusa County, California, could soon be home to the largest new reservoir in the state in 50 years. In accordance with the Bureau of Reclamation’s recommendation, Congress greenlit the allocation of $205.6 million in federal funding for the Sites Reservoir Project under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act).
Colusa County is known for sprawling rice farms and almond orchards, wetlands full of migrating ducks and geese, staunch conservative politics, and the 19th-century family cattle ranch where former Gov. Jerry Brown retired five years ago.
An important milestone was reached Friday for the construction of another reservoir in California. The Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for Sites Reservoir was certified and the Sites Reservoir Project was approved by the Sites Project Authority, the lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act.
Next up for the Sites Project Authority is to move the project through the final planning stages. After getting through the final stages, crews will begin building the reservoir.
State Sen. Jim Nielsen, R-Red Bluff, and Sen. Andreas Borgeas, R-Fresno, introduced a bill last week that would have a significant impact on the Sites Reservoir project in Colusa County.
The bill, Senate Bill 890, is meant to ensure millions of acre-feet of water is stored during wet years instead of being flushed out to sea, a release from California Senate Republicans said.
Sites Reservoir is an off-stream facility proposed north of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta that captures storm water flows from the Sacramento River for release primarily in dry and critical years, the Appeal previously reported.
An ambitious plan to build the largest new reservoir in California in 40 years to supply water to homes and businesses from the Bay Area to Los Angeles, along with Central Valley farmers, is being scaled back considerably amid questions about its $5 billion price tag and how much water it can deliver.
Sites Reservoir is proposed for construction in remote ranch lands in Colusa County, about 70 miles north of Sacramento. The reservoir, originally designed to be four times as big as Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park and nearly as big as San Luis Reservoir between Gilroy and Los Banos, received more money than any other project two years ago from a water bond passed by state voters during California’s historic drought.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
