Valley Water District approves $9.69 million additional funding for Delta Tunnel project planning

San Jose — On Jan. 14, 2025, the Valley Water District — formerly the Santa Clara County Water District — voted to fund an additional $9.69 million for planning and design work for the controversial Delta Conveyance Project (DCP).

The vote follows the vote by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s vote on Dec. 11 to fund an additional $141.6 million for planning and design work for the Delta Tunnel.  

Valley Water District is one of 18 agencies participating in the proposed Delta Conveyance Project.  

If the project is approved, it will install two screened intakes at Hood and Courtland to divert Sacramento River water before it flows through the Delta. The water would then travel 45 miles through an underground tunnel along the eastern edge of the Delta and connect to the existing State Water Project infrastructure at Bethany Reservoir.

The project is opposed by a large coalition of Tribes, fishing groups, conservation organizations, Delta residents, Delta counties and water districts, scientists and water ratepayers.

Opponents say the tunnel, by diverting Sacramento River water before it flows through the Delta, will drive already imperiled Delta smelt, longfin smelt, Sacramento winter-run and spring-run Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, green sturgeon and other fish species to extinction and have a devastating impact on Tribal, fishing, farming and environmental justice communities. 

Chair Tony Estremera: Board needs to invest in project

Valley Board Chair Tony Estremera, before the vote was taken, urged the Board to approve the funding.

“I agree with everybody (on water conservation and recycling projects), but I still believe we should be involved,” he stated. “When you import more than 50% of your water, you have to invest in it. We represent the largest companies on the planet. This is the third governor who wants it so we have to be dedicated. The Met (Metropolitan Water District) had a tremendous meeting and made a big contribution to the project.” 

“If you’re not at the table, it will be worse than being on the menu,” he claimed.

Board Member Rebecca Eisenberg voted against the project, voicing her concerns about the environmental impact of the project before the vote — and urged the Board to instead spend their money on water recycling and conservation.

“There's $20 billion to spend on CA's water future,” she stated. “All of the support for this ill-fated project is based on factual misunderstandings, which seems to maybe intentionally [pushed] by DWR. Research with integrity the scientific facts.”

“We are are vastly underinvested in water recycling. To say it's harder to come by is crazy. Increased populations increase wastewater. The existence of wastewater is far more reliable. Nothing is better mathematically or financially, but we ignore it,” said Eisenberg.   

In a statement announcing the upcoming vote, Valley Water noted that it relies on water delivered through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for approximately 40% of its water supply.  

“The Delta Conveyance Project aims to modernize California’s water delivery system,” the District said, echoing the justification for the project by Governor Gavin Newsom and the Department of Water Resources. “The project will protect against future water supply losses caused by climate-driven weather extremes, sea level rise, levee failures and earthquakes. It will modernize the water distribution system to capture and move water from big but infrequent storms so we can save more water to use during extended dry periods. The project could start providing water supply benefits as early as 2045.”  

The District said the project is estimated to cost $20.12 billion, though tunnel opponents note that the actual cost would greatly exceed this amount when interest, inflation and rising construction costs are considered. 

Environmentalists, Tribes say tunnel will doom salmon and Delta fish populations

During the public comment period, a large number of Delta Tunnel opponents spoke on the devastating impact that the project would have on the San Francisco Bay-Delta Ecosystem and California Tribes,  recreational and commercial fishing communities, Delta business owners and the five Delta counties

Jon Rosenfield, Senior Scientist for the San Francisco Baykeeper, said the Delta Tunnel would doom salmon, sturgeon, steelhead and Delta and longfin smelt in California.

“Agencies like the EPA have been clear that water diverted from projects like the Delta Conveyance Project is the single biggest threat to the environment,” he told the Board. “DWR never misses the chance to tell us how much more water they would divert if they could.”

In a statement last year, Rosenfield noted, “Governor Newsom’s multi-billion-dollar Delta tunnel will divert excessive amounts of water from the Bay, and make matters worse for the fish and communities that depend on this ecosystem. The science clearly demonstrates that fish need increased river flows to survive, but state agencies are ignoring it.”

“California diverts more than half of the water flowing through Central Valley rivers to serve industrial agriculture and big cities. Because of excessive water diversions, the list of fish native to San Francisco Bay and its watershed that are verging on extinction continues to grow, and our fisheries are increasingly shut down,” he stated.

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta, said, “The Bay Delta Plan hasn't been updated in 30 years, which is why our Title VI complaint is under investigation by the EPA. Contrary to Director Buckman, levees are not an ‘and,’ they can be an ‘or.’ It's the financially responsible alternative to securing water supply.”

“Without it, things will get more dangerous than anything we planned for. The community benefits program is a drop in the bucket for the multi-million dollar destruction for the Delta,” she stated.

“Stakeholders didn't agree with the tunnel plan. Justice for one group while hurting another is not how we pull together. Remember that $1billion has been spent on the DCP over the last 15 years. A date of 2055 makes this project impossible. We're winning in court. Delay the vote,” Barrigan-Parrilla concluded.  

In a statement before Tuesday’s vote, Caleen Audrey Sisk, Chief of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, slammed the Delta Tunnel project for the immense harm it will cause to the Delta ecosystem and Central Valley salmon populations.

“This Tunnel will destroy the Delta and the sensitive estuary that supports a very essential nursery for all, including salmon smolts changing from fresh water to salt water life to live in the ocean,” Sisk said. “It also is essential for adult salmon coming in to return to the rivers to high mountains by assisting salmon changing from salt water to fresh water! The tunnel will not only upset the balance of fresh water and salt water mixtures but will destroy deep fresh water springs in the bottom of the Delta that keep the Delta functioning now,” Sisk stated.  

Delta Counties Coalition: Vote is disappointing at best and dangerous at worst

In response to the Valley Water District’s vote to approve $9.69 million to continue planning the controversial and harmful Delta Conveyance Project (DCP), Patrick Hume, Chair of the Delta Counties Coalition (DCC), made the following statement on behalf of the five jurisdictions that would be most negatively impacted:

“SCVWD’s vote is disappointing at best and dangerous at worst. Our jurisdictions share common interests, and we should be working together to protect and best serve the interests of our constituents, not work against them.

The Delta Tunnel would have destructive impacts on our communities and will wreak havoc on both the aquatic and terrestrial environment, further endangering fish and wildlife. Short-term construction and long-term operation effects would also irreparably harm the Delta’s remarkable recreational opportunities and will significantly disrupt daily activities. These impacts would devastate the Delta and its residents.

Besides the total disregard for environmental and economic impacts to the Delta, the DCP fails to address real climate-resilient water solutions, engenders more conflict, and would move the state farther away from effective solutions to meet California’s future water needs.

SCVWD’s vote for additional Delta Tunnel spending means significant rate and property tax increases in water district service areas without certain returns. SCVWD rate increases from the funding request will cost residents more each month, and that does not account for the total costs SCVWD ratepayers would pay toward the full project. It’s important to note that this vote to approve additional planning costs is in addition to the millions already spent by SCVWD on this controversial project that will not yield the claimed benefits to local ratepayers and is far riskier than acknowledged by the Department of Water Resources.

By virtue of this vote, SCVWD continues to demonstrate that it refuses to prioritize working cooperatively with neighboring Delta counties, local partners, and other stakeholders to find ways to strengthen levees, repair existing infrastructure, protect Delta water quality, recharge groundwater, and improve regional self-reliance across the state to strengthen California’s water supply system.

We are disappointed that SCVWD has, at least for now, declined to work together on these shared solutions that would both enhance the Delta and improve water supplies for local residents. The DCC will continue fighting to protect the Delta and advocate for ways to find common-sense, common-ground solutions to strengthen California’s water supply system now and for future generations.”

In other Delta news, the Delta Conveyance Authority (DCA) released a "refined" tunnel route plan on Christmas Eve.

The DCA claims that they have "identified a way to construct 45 miles of tunnel with only two launch sites, each including two launch shafts, that are strategically located to minimize impacts. Tunnel Boring Machines would launch in both directions from each launch shaft site." Read more here: https://bit.ly/3OpTjWq  

Tunnel opponents weren’t impressed with the ‘refined’ tunnel route.

“The new ‘refined’ tunnel route is more of the same giant boondoggle and needs to be stopped,” said Bill Wells, Executive Director of the California Delta Chambers & Visitor's Bureau. “Moving the tunnel a mile or so East does nothing to help the citizens of Hood who are at ground zero for the tunnel intakes. It does nothing for the fish populations that will be destroyed or the people in the Delta whose lives will be disrupted.”