As part of his revised May budget proposal, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is calling on the state legislature to fast-track the Delta Conveyance Project—a $20 billion water tunnel designed to modernize the State Water Project (SWP) and safeguard California’s water supply amid growing climate pressures.
Newsom’s proposal aims to streamline permitting, land acquisition, financing and limit legal delays for the long-debated project, which would reroute water beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to better serve cities and farmland across the state. The administration says accelerating the Delta Conveyance Project could save billions of dollars and shave years off construction timelines, delivering critical infrastructure upgrades to help California adapt to intensifying droughts, floods and seismic threats.
“For too long, attempts to modernize our critical water infrastructure have stalled in endless red tape, burdened with unnecessary delay,” Newsom said in a statement. ‘We’re done with barriers—our state needs to complete this project as soon as possible, so we can better store and manage water to prepare for a hotter, drier future. Let’s get this built.”
The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is advancing the Delta Conveyance Project, which would construct a 45-mile underground tunnel to provide a second route for transporting water to the SWP’s pumping facilities south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. This is where water begins its journey to serve 27 million people and irrigate 750,000 acres of farmland.
DWR emphasized the tunnel’s role in improving water supply reliability amid climate-driven challenges. With more intense winter storms and drier summers, the tunnel would allow the state to capture and store more water during wet seasons, helping offset California’s projected 10% water supply loss by 2040 due to climate change, according to DWR.
For instance, had the tunnel been operational, it could have captured over 941,000 acre-feet of water (an acre-foot is 325,851 gallons) from the storms in January 2023—enough for nearly 850,000 households for a year, the agency continued.
The State Water Resources Control Board is reviewing a petition from the Newsom administration to amend water rights permits, enabling water to be diverted from new intake points on the Sacramento River where the tunnel would begin.
Reactions
Lawmakers in the region call the project costly and say it will destroy valuable farmland.
Rep. Josh Harder (D-CA-09) is continuing his strong opposition to the Delta Conveyance Project, calling it a “$20 billion boondoggle” that “won’t create a single drop of water for anyone.” In a statement, Harder accused Sacramento of “doing everything they can — including ducking the law—to force its destructive effects and ballooning costs on Delta families.”
Harder also criticized the project as “a direct attack on the region’s economy,” adding, “it’s clear that politicians care more about lawns in Beverly Hills than protecting the fruit and nut basket of the world.”
In February, Harder reintroduced the Stop the Delta Tunnel Act in Congress. The bill aims to block the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from issuing a key federal permit required for the project to move forward.
“I’m going to fight this project tooth and nail,” Harder said, “because our very way of life is at risk.”
State Sen. Jerry McNerney (D-05) urges the legislature to reject Newsom’s proposal to fast-track the Delta Conveyance Project through the state budget. Calling the plan “poorly conceived,” McNerney warned that the tunnel “will destroy nearly 4,000 acres of prime farmland in the fragile Delta, along with salmon fisheries and tribal resources.” McNerney suggested alternative solutions such as fortifying Delta levees to prevent flooding and expanding water recycling and groundwater storage to ensure a sustainable water supply.
The State Water Contractors (SWC), an association representing 27 public water agencies responsible for funding and operating the SWP, voiced strong support for Newsom’s proposal to streamline the Delta Conveyance Project.
Jennifer Pierre, SWC general manager, said the approval process “has been hampered by red tape and frivolous delay tactics for decades—costing Californians millions of dollars without addressing our very real challenges with water supply reliability.”
According to SWC, avoiding delays could save contractors more than $365 million annually. The group pointed out that the project has been “refined and redesigned to address environmental concerns and community feedback,” and the current version is significantly smaller and rerouted to avoid central Delta communities. — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
