WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Climate change is dwindling our water supply and threatening access for millions of Californians. This project proposal, redesigned following input from the public and Governor Newsom, aims to protect access for millions of Californians. The release of the final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is a milestone in the state’s water strategy.
SACRAMENTO — Governor Gavin Newsom today reaffirmed his support for the redesigned Delta Conveyance Project proposal, highlighting how critical the project is to protect millions of people’s water access against the threats of climate change. Since day one, the Governor pledged to right-size this project to one tunnel and embrace an all-of-the-above approach to protecting California’s water access.
WHY IT’S NEEDED: California is expected to lose 10% of its water supply due to hotter and drier conditions, threatening the water supply for millions of Californians. Extreme weather whiplash will result in more intense swings between droughts and floods – California’s 60-year-old water infrastructure is not built for these climate impacts. During January’s atmospheric rivers, the Delta Conveyance Project could have captured enough water for 2.3 million people’s yearly usage.
HOW IT WORKS: The redesigned Delta Conveyance Project would capture and move more water during wet seasons to better endure dry seasons. The tunnel, a modernization of the infrastructure system that delivers water to millions of people, would improve California’s ability to take advantage of intense periods of rain and excess flows in the Sacramento River. It would also help protect against the risk of an earthquake cutting off water supplies to millions of Californians, currently a 72% chance of 6.7+ magnitude in the area.
WHAT GOVERNOR NEWSOM SAID: “Climate change is threatening our access to clean drinking water, diminishing future supplies for millions of Californians – doing nothing is not an option. After the three driest years on record, we didn’t have the infrastructure to fully take advantage of an exceptionally wet year, which will become more and more critical as our weather whiplashes between extremes. This proposed project is essential to updating our water system for millions of Californians. This new approach, redesigned following community and environmental input, is how we can build a California of the future.”
For more information, click here for the Department of Water Resources press release.
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