The California Department of Water Resources is using the winter storms to claim that the proposed Delta Conveyance project would help ensure a more reliable water supply for the State Water Project in light of how climate change will alter seasonal patterns of rain and drought. In reality, the benefits of the conveyance project are speculative at best. The Delta Counties Coalition demonstrated for over 15 years that resources slated for the tunnel would be better spent on sustainable, resilient water infrastructure around the state (such as groundwater recharge, storage, recycled water expansion, desalination) instead of further increasing reliance on Sacramento River freshwater flows, which is in direct conflict with a Delta Reform Act requirement to reduce reliance on the Delta.
-Written by Oscar Villegas, chair of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors; and Patrick Kennedy, a member of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors and Delta Counties Coalition.