Tag Archive for: Imported Water

California’s Delta Tunnel Project Inches Forward – and Just Got a $15.9 Billion Price Tag

When Gov. Gavin Newsom downsized the Delta tunnels water project last year, the idea was to save money and try to appease at least some of the project’s critics. Yet the project remains controversial — and still figures to be costly. After months of relative quiet, Newsom’s administration released a preliminary cost estimate for the scaled-back project Friday: $15.9 billion for a single tunnel running beneath the estuary just south of Sacramento.

Aqueduct Project Brought Much-Needed Boon to 1930s Banning

In 1930, while the Great Depression was worsening and the impacts of it were starting to be felt nationwide, the city of Banning received some good news. A major construction project was about to unfold in its backyard, and the city would benefit greatly. The project was the Colorado River Aqueduct of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Starting in the mid-1920s, there had been a series of studies done for bringing water from the Colorado River west to be used in the greater Los Angeles region. In December 1930, the district made the final decision to go with a route that included the San Gorgonio Pass and construction of a major tunnel under Mount San Jacinto.

OPINION: Gavin Newsom’s Plan for California Water is a Good One. Stay the Course

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new blueprint for California water policy offers a stay-the-course agenda for projects and policies intended to help cope with a warming climate and more volatile weather patterns that already are affecting the state’s irrigation, environmental and drinking water supplies. There are no moonshots and few surprises, and that’s fine; it will be challenging enough to ensure that all Californians are hooked up to safe and reliable water supplies to meet their needs for the coming decade and beyond.

Opinion: Importing Water to Save the Salton Sea Can Work. Let’s Prove and Do It Now

The Engagement Committee of the Salton Sea Management Plan (SSMP) met June 17 on Zoom, though participating community members were neither seen or heard; they could only write comments and questions.

About 90% of the meeting consisted of management reporting on small plans to control dust and build habitat that still require federal permits, which will delay construction for another year. Also, the SSMP has approved a $19 million dollar pilot project for the North Lake.

Opinion: A Social Justice Perspective of the Delta Tunnel Project

As California confronts increasing water challenges, the most equitable statewide solution from a social justice perspective is the single-tunnel project proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, known as the Delta Conveyance Project.

More than 27 million Californians rely on imported drinking water conveyed through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. This imported water also serves millions of acres of local agricultural lands and vital wildlife refuges.

Santa Monica Will Stop Using Imported Water By 2023, Three Years Behind Schedule

Santa Monica is three years behind schedule for water independence due to delays in obtaining permits for some of the proposed plans. The city is using about 20 percent less imported water than it did in 2011, when City Council set a goal of achieving water self-sufficiency by 2020. At a recent Council meeting, staff said changes to state laws have also presented a challenge. Staff has redesigned parts of the plan because new state regulations require the removal of certain chemicals from drinking water making treatment more difficult and expensive, said Alex Navarchuk, the City’s principal engineer.