Newsom urges $5.1 billion for California water projects during visit to Merced County
Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed $5.1 billion worth of water projects during a visit Monday to Merced County.
The money would go to efforts around the state such as fixing leaky canals, cleaning up polluted wells, and restoring natural floodplains to protect homes from high flows.
Newsom urged state legislators to approve the spending over the next four years. The money would come from California’s record budget surplus of $75.7 billion.
The governor announced the plan at San Luis Reservoir, a key part of the state and federal water systems in the hills west of Los Banos. It was at just 49% of capacity due to two straight dry winters.
Newsom said the plan would help assure water for farmers and city residents amid a changing climate.
“It’s self-evident to a lot of folks that the hots are getting a lot hotter in this state,” he said in a Facebook livestream from the news conference. “The dries are getting a lot drier.”
The announcement came the same day that Newsom added 39 counties to his drought emergency declaration, including all of the San Joaquin Valley.
The plan does not include expanding reservoir storage around the state, an idea supported by the California Farm Bureau Federation. The group also urges water conservation, recycling and desalination.
“Water to farms means food for families, jobs for farm employees and much-needed help for rural economies,” President Jamie Johansson said in a news release.
Newsom outlined the proposed spending in various categories, including:
- $1.3 billion for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, especially for small and low-income locales
$500 million for “repurposing” farmland for flood control, wildlife habitat and other uses
$300 million to boost groundwater quality and quantity
$200 million toward repairing cracks in state and federal canals due to land subsidence in over-drafted aquifers. Two of these waterways — the California Aqueduct and the Delta-Mendota Canal — run down the west side of the Valley.
$230 million to help fish and wildlife in areas disturbed by water projects
$200 million for habitat restoration in tidal wetlands and floodplains
$150 million for groundwater cleanup and water recycling
$91 million to improve data collection for water supply forecasting
$60 million to help farmers conserve water and reduce emissions from well pumping
$33 million for other projects for fish and wildlife
$27 million for temporary and permanent solutions to drinking water emergencies caused by the drought.
Newsom separately proposed $1 billion to help pandemic-stressed people pay overdue water bills.
He was joined outside the San Luis visitor center by all three of the Democratic lawmakers representing the area — Rep. Jim Costa, state Sen. Anna Caballero and Assemblyman Adam Gray.
“You can see, based on the waterline behind us, that we do need the resiliency in our water system,” Caballero said.
This story was originally published May 11, 2021 at 8:18 AM.
