Adam RollinsCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced a proposal to fast-track the multi-billion-dollar Delta Conveyance Project (DCP), an ambitious water initiative that upgrades and improves the state’s water infrastructure. The proposal would streamline and enhance the project, enabling water supply reliability, climate change adaptation and fishery and water quality protections.
The proposal comes as an attachment to the governor’s May revision of the state budget. Solutions to streamline the project would include:
- Simplifying permitting processes by removing select deadlines from existing State Water Project (SWP) water rights permits, enabling the project to indefinitely serve residents’ water needs. The proposal would also bolster enforcement of the Water Board’s existing rules for permit protests.
- Confirming the Department of Water Resources authority to issue bonds to pay for the DCP, later repaid by participating water agencies.
- Stopping litigation delays by optimizing judicial review of future challenges to the DCP.
- Supporting construction by streamlining the authority to buy land.
The state’s water supply is at risk, poised to decrease by at least 10% in the immediate future as weather conditions continue to grow hotter and drier. California’s water infrastructure is averaged at 60 years old, making it unlikely to adequately address extreme weather oscillations between drought and flood events.
The DCP would supplement the SWP, which has historically provided water for 27 million residents and 750,000 acres of farmland. However, the SWP was created with a more predictable rain cycle in mind, forcing the system to ineffectively capture, handle and process sudden water flows caused by climate change.
Project plans would involve building a tunnel to move and capture water during high-flow atmospheric rivers, enabling the state to better manage water supplies during dry seasons. Intake and tunneling facilities will be core aspects of the project as they would allow the state to take advantage of intense rain periods and better redirect floodwaters from the Sacramento River.
To date, the project has made a few milestones, including some necessary permits. The DCP received a final environmental impact report in December 2023 as well as secured funding from numerous state water agencies.
While the benefits of the DCP would capture enough water for 9.8 million people’s yearly usage, the project has been mired in bureaucracy, regulations and permitting hurdles for years. Without action, the state anticipates that the SWP’s reliability could be reduced by up to 23%.
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