Proposed Sites Reservoir Project Inches Closer To Becoming A Reality

At long last, plans have been finalized to begin construction of Sites Reservoir. The Bureau of Reclamation and the Sites Project Authority made the announcement Thursday. Environmental groups are still fighting the project, which they say will divert too much water from the Sacramento River and harm Salmon and other wildlife. Supporters hope the project will help the region withstand droughts. The reservoir is planned for an area west of Williams in Glenn and Colusa Counties, and would hold up to 1.5 Million Acre-Feet of off-stream storage as a catch basin for storm water and flood flows. That would make it the second largest off-stream reservoir in the country and would increase Northern California’s water storage capacity by up to 15%, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. The Federal Government has authorized a total of $234 Million and the Environmental Protection Agency said last year that it would loan the project nearly $2.2 Billion to cover about half of the total cost. California voters had floated nearly a Billion Dollars in bond money as well. More information on the project, including the environmental impact report, can be found at sitesproject.org.