The plan to build California’s first new major reservoir in decades advances as the state considers whether to issue a water-right permit for the proposed Sites Reservoir, an off-stream water storage project that could store up to 1.5 million acre-feet annually.
The California State Water Resources Control Board last week began a public hearing process on the project’s water-right permit application. Hearings will continue through October.
Representatives of agriculture, water districts and government agencies spoke at the first session Aug. 19 and urged the state water board to approve the water-right permit to advance the project.
“After a half-century of conceptual proposals and a quarter-century more of hard study, California is finally ready to build Sites, and not a moment too soon,” said Alexandra Biering, senior policy advocate for the California Farm Bureau. Biering noted projections estimating climate change will cause the Sierra Nevada snowpack to erode by as much as 60% by the end of this century, resulting in a 10% reduction of water supplies.
An approved water-right permit from the state water board would give the Sites Project Authority, a joint-powers authority of Sacramento Valley irrigation agencies, water districts, cities and counties legal permission to divert water under certain conditions.
Described as a critical component of the state’s long-term water supply strategy, the proposed reservoir would divert and store water from the Sacramento River and two of its tributaries for future statewide uses, including for agriculture, municipal, and fish and wildlife protection.
The California Water Code says the state water board must determine that water is available after other needs are met, including those of senior water-rights holders and instream flows needed to protect water quality and fish and wildlife in the Sacramento River and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The board must also consider whether the intended water use would be reasonable and beneficial and if approving the application is in the public interest.
As part of a water-availability analysis looking at a range of scenarios, the Sites Project Authority reported there is enough unappropriated water in the Sacramento River and the delta system to support Sites Reservoir. The amount of available water would vary from year to year, but scenarios show an annual average of 658,000 acre-feet. The analysis also evaluates the delta watershed and assumes implementation of a 55% unimpaired flow requirement in the Sacramento Valley and delta, with the first 55% percent of water allocated to the environment and the remaining 45% allocated to water-right holders.
In last week’s first day of hearings, Nicole Kuenzi, presiding hearing officer at the state water board’s Administrative Hearings Office, said the purpose of the proceeding is to receive information that the board should consider in determining whether to approve the authority’s water-right application and to identify any terms or conditions.
“My role here today and in the following months as this hearing progresses is to conduct the hearing in an efficient, orderly and fair manner, and through that process develop the evidentiary record that the board will rely on when making a final decision,” Kuenzi said.
In her remarks during the session, Biering said the process to build new water storage in the state “has never been more difficult than it is today.” She added, “Sites has always represented one of California’s greatest water storage opportunities with the least potential impacts.”
Also testifying was David Guy, president of the Northern California Water Association, which represents water suppliers and local governments in Northern California. “This is a time to get really excited about the future of California water,” he said.
“Sites Reservoir is something that will benefit everybody who has an interest in water in the northern part of the state and in the southern part of the state,” Guy testified.
He said Sites Reservoir would provide benefits in helping California adapt to climate change by storing water for use in dry years and helping with flood protection. He said the project would also integrate infrastructure with nature-based solutions, deliver flows with function and ensure mutual accounting by water agencies.
Joshua Rahm, California Walnut Commission global director of technical and regulatory affairs, said the proposed reservoir would increase flexibility by capturing and storing water in wet years for use in dry years.
“Our support for this project is definitely focused on the mindfulness of the safety, health, sustainability and environmental stewardship of all areas of potential impact combined with the positive impacts,” Rahm said.
Adam Borchard, director of government and public policy at the Fresno-based California Fresh Fruit Association, urged the state water board to approve the water right. He called Sites “the largest investment in water storage in California by federal, state or local authorities in nearly half a century.”
“The Sites Reservoir project represents a strategic asset in California’s water supply and management portfolio,” Borchard said. “It will help provide resiliency to our state’s water resources in response to the myriad effects of climate change.”
Adam Nickels, deputy regional director for the California-Great Basin Region of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, said Sites “has the potential to serve as a powerful new tool for water users throughout California.” More than $430 million in federal funds has been approved for the project, and more may yet be appropriated.
The Sites Reservoir project is estimated to cost $4 billion. According to the authority, it is 100% funded by local, state and federal dollars. Through the 2014 Proposition 1 water bond, the state has committed $875 million for public benefits such as environmental protection, flood control and recreation.
The state water board’s evidentiary hearing took place at the California Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Sacramento and virtually. During this opening phase of the multisession proceeding, environmental groups are expected to voice opposition to the proposed project, which some groups argue would affect water quality and temperature in the lower Sacramento River and delta.
The state water board is expected to consider approval of the water-right permit in 2025. Construction of Sites Reservoir could begin in 2026.