Desert Water Agency plans decades ahead to make sure our water supply can meet our community’s future needs. Imported water supplies to replenish our groundwater basin are a critical part of this strategy. As 2023 draws to a close, two key projects that support our water future had big milestones.
Delta Conveyance Project
DWA is one of 29 State Water Project contractors with rights to water from Northern California. The State Water Project is California’s vast water system of canals, pipelines and reservoirs that help deliver water to 27 million Californians.
The Delta Conveyance Project will modernize the State Water Project to make it more reliable and resilient. It includes building a single below-ground tunnel through the California Delta. As our climate changes, the upgraded system will better capture, move and store water.
The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) approved the project and certified the final environmental impact report on Dec. 21, 2023. For more information on the Delta Conveyance Project, go here: https://www.deltaconveyanceproject.com/
Sites Reservoir
This off-river storage basin will be about an hour north of Sacramento in Maxwell, California. It will capture water in wet years from stream run-off, rainfall and extreme storms and will deliver it in drier years. It will also allow for releases to protect the environment.
Sites will work in conjunction with other state reservoirs and increase water flexibility, reliability and resiliency during dry years.
In November, the Bureau of Reclamation and Sites Project Authority certified its final environmental impact report. Construction is projected to start in 2026.
For more information about Sites Reservoir, go here: https://sitesproject.org