Keaton PetersCalifornia is on the verge of making major investments to safeguard against water shortages, if state officials can agree on how to spend newly available dollars. At a recent meeting of the California Water Commission, officials weighed approaches for allocating more than $525 million in water storage funding after a major reservoir expansion project unexpectedly withdrew from the program earmarked for critical water infrastructure improvements.
As part of Proposition 1, a $7.5 billion water bond passed by California voters in 2014, $453.7 million in funding comes from the Water Storage Investment Program (WSIP) and was initially designated for the Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion Project in Contra Costa County. Another $75 million comes from the recently voter-approved Proposition 4, the Parks, Environment, Energy and Water Bond Measure of 2024. The Contra Costa Water District formally withdrew from the program in fall 2024, creating an unexpected opportunity to redirect these funds toward other water storage priorities.
In a state where water security remains a perpetual concern amid climate change and recurring droughts, the redirection of over half a billion dollars represents a significant opportunity for California’s water infrastructure planning. Projects funded by Proposition 1 are designed to store more water during wet years to offset shortages in cities and farms during drought periods. Many projects have faced delays due to the COVID pandemic, inflation-driven cost increases, permitting challenges and difficulties for local water agencies to secure matching funds. Faced with a sudden opportunity, the Commission presented five detailed options for utilizing the newly available funding:
1. Maximize Inflationary Adjustments Immediately: This option would apply all available funding to the six remaining WSIP projects to cover inflation costs. This could be done quickly with minimal effort, but would allow projects to request additional early funding, potentially increasing the risk of sunk costs if projects don’t ultimately move forward.
2. Delay Inflation Adjustments: The Commission would take a full year to assess project viability before making any adjustments, with decisions coming in early 2026. This aligns with the Commission’s 2025 Strategic Plan goal to better understand project timelines and challenges.
3. Apply Proposition 4 Inflation Adjustments Now, Delay Remaining: This would use the $75 million from Proposition 4 to make smaller immediate inflation adjustments to all projects, with decisions about the remaining $453.7 million coming later.
4. Utilize All Funding for Increased Benefits: Rather than inflation adjustments, this option would fund additional public benefits, potentially through a second solicitation process that could include two projects from a 2021 screening process. This would require a longer timeline of 2-3 years.
5. Divide Funding Between Inflation and Increased Benefits: This balanced approach would allocate some funding for immediate inflation relief and reserve the remainder for increased benefits or new projects.
The presentation highlighted significant differences in timing and effort between the options. The inflationary adjustment options could be implemented within 1-2 months with minimal effort from the state and project proponents. In contrast, options involving increased benefits or a second solicitation would require 2-3 years and significantly more resources from all parties involved.
The staff presentation emphasized that Commission members could potentially combine elements from different options or develop alternative approaches. While no binding decisions were made at the February meeting, the Commission directed staff on which options to return with at the March meeting, when a decision is expected.
During the meeting, a majority of the commissioners indicated they were leaning toward dividing up the funds among the six existing projects.
However, there was some interest in pursuing additional projects with the newly available funds. Commissioners spoke about using funds to advance the Sites Reservoir project in Colusa County. This proposed $4.5 billion project would create a 1.5 million acre-foot reservoir, becoming California’s eighth largest if constructed. The project has already secured multiple rounds of federal funding amounting to several hundred-million dollars.
While commissioners considered their options, they were also updated on the first WSIP project to successfully receive its final funding award, the Harvest Water Program.
This $585 million effort by the Sacramento Area Sewer District is already under construction, with crews installing pipes to collect 50,000 acre-feet of recycled water annually. The project will use this water to irrigate 16,000 acres of farmland and provide water for wildlife in Sacramento County. Billed as California’s largest agricultural water recycling project, it’s scheduled for completion in 2027 with Proposition 1 funding covering about half the cost at $291 million.
Photo Courtesy
Aerial view of Los Vaqueros Reservoir
Pi.1415926535 via Wikimedia Commons
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