SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — State officials say California’s planned project in the Sacramento River-San Joaquin Delta will speed up collection of water to improve supplies that have drastically dwindled due to droughts caused by climate change.
The state Department of Water Resources reported Friday that water supply losses due to climate change have worsened to affect 27 million Californians. In the final environmental impact report for the proposed Delta Conveyance Project, known informally as the delta tunnel project, officials said California is expected to lose 10% of that supply by 2040 due to hotter temperatures.
During January’s atmospheric rivers, the Delta Conveyance Project could have captured enough water to supply 2.3 million people for one year, the report found. The state saw its three driest years on record before 2023 and experts expect more intense swings between droughts and floods each year.
California’s 60-year-old State Water Project infrastructure was not built for these effects, officials say. That’s why their report focuses on the promises of the Delta Conveyance Project’s design as part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s water supply strategy.
“Climate change is threatening our access to clean drinking water, diminishing future supplies for millions of Californians — doing nothing is not an option. After the three driest years on record, we didn’t have the infrastructure to fully take advantage of an exceptionally wet year, which will become more and more critical as our weather whiplashes between extremes,” said Newsom. “This project is essential to updating our water system for millions of Californians. This new approach, redesigned following community and environmental input, is how we can build a California of the future.”
The project would capture and move more water during wet seasons to better endure dry seasons and improve California’s ability to take advantage of intense periods of rain, the report says. It would also help protect against the currently 72% chance of a severe earthquake of at least 6.7 on the Richter Scale cutting off water supply to millions of Californians.
The proposed 36-foot wide tunnel would run for about 45 miles along the eastern side of the delta. Two intakes would be built near the community of Hood, approximately two miles south of Sacramento. Each facility would pump 3,000 cubic feet per second into into the tunnel running south and east through the community of Thornton and underneath a number of delta islands, sloughs, levees and more.
The water would then be discharged into the Bethany Reservoir and an aqueduct would be built to transfer water to the currently existing water project pump stations. In 2022, the state estimated that if approved the project could take 12-15 years to complete.
The report noted that more than 7,000 people have commented on the project since 2020. Among residents’ recommendations were avoiding the central Delta, forebays and barge landings; reducing pile driving; placing power underground near sandhill crane habitat; and minimizing acreage needed to store tunnel material and the project footprint.
Carrie Buckman, the project’s environmental program manager, said that during the revision process officials worked to minimize its impacts on air quality, waterways, terrestrial species and wetlands.
When the state’s environmental review process is complete, the department will determine if the final report complies with state law and whether it can be certified. Once certified, the department can use the report to decide whether to finally approve the project.
“Modernized infrastructure in the delta is a missing link to the state’s most affordable and reliable source of water,” said Karla Nemeth, the department's director. “Improving water use efficiency and increasing local water supplies is an important compliment to the State Water Project to ensure that a climate proof water supply remains affordable now and into the future.”
Ever since the Central Valley Water Project and the State Water Project were created to transport water to the south part of the state, there have been efforts to build a tunnel to funnel additional water. Early 21st century efforts called for multiple massive tunnels, but those plans dried up after water agencies withdrew funding support amid a backlash and lawsuits from environmental groups and delta water providers.
A number of environmental groups, congressmen, water agencies and others have voiced their opposition to the project. They say the project will burden the delta, reduce its water quality and provide no additional water to customers in the south.
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