Progress report on new dams and other California water storage

In 2014, California voters approved Proposition 1: The Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act. The $7.5 billion bond dedicated $2.7 billion for the public benefits of new water storage projects.

Some ask, “Why have no new reservoirs been built in the seven years since?” Rest assured, there are projects in the works. All recently passed a key milestone and are moving forward.

Any large-scale water storage project is complex and requires a high degree of planning, engineering, coordination — and significant financing. The California Water Commission has actively overseen the proposed projects over the past six years.

Investing in defined public benefits is a new approach to state financing of water storage projects. Applicants must show that their project would advance the long-term objectives of restoring ecological health and improving water management for beneficial uses of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the crossroads of major water project operations and important habitat for endangered fish species.

In 2017, local water districts submitted 12 applications for Prop. 1 funding. In July 2018, the commission decided the maximum eligible amount of bond funding that would be made available to fund the public benefits of eight proposed projects. They include a proposed reservoir in Glenn and Colusa counties that would hold water piped to it from the Sacramento River, and several groundwater banks in Southern California.

By Jan. 1, 2022, all project proponents must have completed feasibility studies, released a draft version of their environmental documents for public review, and have the commission find that their project is feasible. Seven projects were found feasible in 2021 and remain eligible to continue.

At this point, seven projects are moving forward with Prop. 1 funding that would provide 2.77 million acre-feet of water storage and significant public benefits. Before any project can receive its final award of funding, proponents must submit to the commission completed environmental documents, permits, non-public benefit cost share contracts, and contracts with state agencies for the administration of public benefits.

The commission remains ready to award final funding as soon as these requirements are met. While there is no statutory deadline for a project to complete these requirements, the commission does have the discretion to determine a project is not making sufficient progress and rescind its bond funding.

Each of the seven projects is different and is proceeding at different speeds. Some projects may be finished and operating within two years. Others will take longer. Since 2017, the planned implementation schedules have not changed significantly. As of this date, four projects have adopted or certified final environmental documents.

Most likely to finish first is a south Sacramento County groundwater storage project called Harvest Water. Managed by the Sacramento County Regional Sanitation District, the project would use highly-treated wastewater to replace groundwater as a source of water to irrigate farmland and habitat, thus preserving groundwater. The Harvest Water Program hopes to come before the commission for final funding later this year.

Things are getting done. Progress is being made. The commission is carrying out the voters’ intent. We are anxious to fund the projects once the statutory requirements have been met and we look forward to seeing these projects deliver the public benefits associated with new water storage capacity so vitally needed in our state.