The California Water Commission is moving closer to approving requests for funding from Proposition 1, the 2014 ballot measure authorizing $2.7 billion for investments in new water storage projects. At public meetings this week, the Commission staff focused on technical aspects of the project applications as a prelude to the Commission’s consideration of the funding requests next week. In contrast to the first round of the project applications, the Commission staff is recommending that 8 of the 10 projects which appealed the no-funding recommendation in round one receive enhanced funding—a total of $2.587 billion. Project applications cite the flexibility that the storage projects will offer water managers, helping them save water in wet times for use in dry ones for the benefit of people, farmers and other businesses, and the environment. Water Storage Among the projects recommended for funding are four surface storage projects and one groundwater storage project: • Sites Project, located in Northern California west of the community of Maxwell in Colusa County, $933.3 million recommended. Sites is an offstream reservoir that would be filled only during major storms. Water captured in the reservoir would be available during dry years and extended droughts to provide coldwater releases to [...]
↧