California water regulators approved a water right permit for the Sites Reservoir, moving the proposed 1.5 million acre-foot project closer to construction and giving farms and communities another potential water source during dry years and prolonged supply shortages.
The State Water Resources Control Board’s Nov. 4 decision diverts water from the Sacramento River for the reservoir in Glenn and Colusa counties. The board said it would be California’s largest new reservoir in more than 50 years.
The permit allows diversions of up to 986,000 acre-feet annually between November and mid-June, subject to conditions. Water must be surplus to the needs of senior water right holders, Delta water quality and fish, according to the board.
Once built, Sites Reservoir will send water through canals and rivers to participating state and federal agencies, irrigation districts in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, and urban water suppliers in the Bay Area and Southern California.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said the state’s recent swings between drought and heavy storms show why more storage is needed. He pointed to the state’s driest three-year period on record, from 2020 through 2022, followed by nine atmospheric rivers in three weeks.
“Sites Reservoir is a smart investment in our future, helping ensure our communities, farms, and wildlife have the water they need when it matters most,” Newsom said. “Now it’s time to get shovels in the ground.”
For agricultural water users, the project’s value would come largely during drought, when irrigation supplies become less dependable.
California Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass welcomed the approval, saying it gives the project greater certainty and could allow construction to begin next year.
“Sites is most critical for providing supplies in the dry years when water is otherwise scarce throughout the system,” Douglass said.
She said the decision also demonstrates that major water projects remain possible in California with the right design, support and leadership.
Plans also include water for wildlife refuges and up to 200,000 acre-feet for use during emergency-declared droughts, according to the governor’s office.
Environmental and tribal groups opposed the permit, citing concerns about cultural sites, river flows, water quality and salmon. Kasil Willie, policy director at Save California Salmon, told SFGATE the project overlaps ancestral Tribal territory and needs stronger protections.
“I don’t know that it’s a trade-off as much as a sacrifice of tribal cultural resources,” Willie said.
Financing remains the next step toward construction. The governor’s office said the Sites Project Authority and participating agencies must advance funding arrangements before work begins.
The board’s approval covers Sacramento River diversions. Whether the Sites Reservoir may capture water from Funks and Stone Corral creeks will be considered separately at a hearing beginning in January 2027. — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
