The Biden Administration has announced a new commitment of more than $500 Million toward water projects in the western states. $129 Million of that will be spent on the construction of Sites Reservoir. The Bureau of Reclamation and the Sites Project Authority are still working through the regulatory process before ground can finally be broken. Some 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 water storage 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 which would be diverted by canals and pipelines from 17 miles from the Sacramento River. It would increase Northern California’s water storage capacity by up to 15%, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. Before this week’s announcement, the Federal Government had already authorized a total of $234 Million and the Environmental Protection Agency said in 2022 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 can be found at sitesproject.org.
-Steve Gibson