Governor Newsom issues water resilience update, touting 'progress' on Delta Tunnel and Sites Reservoir

SACRAMENTO — In his Water Resilience One Year update issued on October 2, Governor Gavin Newsom claimed the State of California has made “significant strides” in securing and enhancing water supplies over the past year while building climate resilience

“Over the past year, California has implemented innovative water management strategies and invested heavily in drinking water systems, groundwater protection and infrastructure projects, benefitting millions of residents statewide,” the Governor wrote.

He pointed to “progress” on the Delta Conveyance Project, a giant and enormously expensive tunnel under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta that is opposed by a coalition of Tribes, fishing groups, conservation organizations, Delta residents, scientists and water ratepayers. Opponents say the tunnel, by diverting Sacramento River water before it reaches the Delta, will hasten the extinction of imperiled Delta smelt, longfin smelt, salmon, steelhead and other fish species. 

”California released the final Environmental Impact Report for this critical project, as well as a new cost-benefit analysis showing that it would create billions of dollars in benefits for California communities – including reliable water supplies, climate change adaptation, earthquake preparedness and improved water quality,” Newsom claimed. “With every $1 spent, $2.20 in benefits would be generated.

He also noted that through the end of the year, local water districts that depend upon the State Water Project  will vote on funding the project. To date, the boards of the first three such districts to vote have committed to providing planning funds for the project, said Newsom.

In response, Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta, described the Delta Tunnel as a “pipe dream” that would drain the estuary.

"Governor Newsom claims the Delta Tunnel is about water resilience, but the truth is this project will drain our wallets and the Delta itself with declining water supplies resulting from climate change,” said Barrigan-Parrilla. “His rosy cost-benefit analysis conveniently ignores the environmental destruction to environmental justice communities, harm to tribal communities, and massive financial risks for Southern California ratepayers.”

“He is pushing a $20 billion gamble on a pipe dream for the benefit of powerful political donors. California needs real climate solutions that reduce Delta reliance, not a boondoggle that benefits a few at the expense of our most vital ecosystems, economies, and people,” stated Barrigan-Parrilla.

Newson also touted his “streamlining Sites Reservoir project,” another boondoggle opposed by many of the same organizations opposing the Delta Tunnel, in his update.

”California is forging ahead with this major water storage project which could store enough water for 3 million households’ yearly usage. The Sites Reservoir project cleared a legal hurdle last month under expedited judicial review enabled by the Governor’s infrastructure streamlining law,” argued Newsom.   

Kasil Willie, Staff Attorney for Save California Salmon, summed up the reasons why Tribes and environmental groups oppose the construction of Sites Reservoir, in reference to the favorable California Appeals Court Ruling last month regarding the project’s environmental impact report that Newsom cites.

"Tribes and other project opponents have valid concerns including contamination of drinking water supplies, salmon extinction, and inundation of lands that hold irreplaceable Native American sacred sites and cultural resources,” stated Willie. “The Project as proposed will cause irreparable harm to Tribal Cultural Resources, including ancestral village sites and burial sites.” 

On the day before the governor issued his water portfolio update, representatives of fishing and environmental groups blasted the California Department of Water Resources and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for cancelling the fall flow protections for the few remaining Delta Smelt.

The Delta Smelt, once the most abundant fish species in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, is virtually extinct in the wild, due to massive water exports to agribusiness and other factors over the past several decades.

Zero smelt have been caught over the past six years in the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Fall Midwater Trawl Survey. The Delta Smelt, found only in the Delta, is an “indicator species” that shows the health of the San Francisco Bay-Delta ecosystem. 

Current state and federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) permits require DWR and Reclamation to release a pulse of water through the Delta to the San Francisco Bay in September and October to improve habitat conditions for the listed Delta Smelt, according to a statement from environmental and fishing groups. This fall outflow requirement is only triggered in years when it is wetter than normal and is often referred to as “Fall X2.”

“It is incredibly disappointing to see the Newsom and Biden administrations willing to implement Trump-era water policies,” said Ashley Overhouse, Water Policy Advisor with Defenders of Wildlife. “This decision marks a somber start to the new water year, undercutting years of collaborative work to ensure the best available science is informing our water management decisions.”

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