Sen. Jerry McNerney is stepping into the fight over one of the biggest modern-day water projects in California — a tunnel to reroute more water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta south to farmers and cities — just as it’s heating up. Representatives of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region have long railed against the project for its potential impact on the environment and local water supplies. But McNerney, a 22-year veteran of Congress who came to the state Senate last year to represent San Joaquin County, which will bear the brunt of the tunnel’s construction, sees political forces aligning in a way that they haven’t in decades. “It’s going to be more of a challenge for us to keep the discussion to actually the benefit and cost of this thing, as opposed to just the will to get it done,” he said.

Other tunnel and pipeline news:

• Los Angeles Times: Inside the massive tunnel that carries water to Southern California
• Local News Matters: Marin Water’s planned pipeline would be its largest water supply project in over 40 years