Delta Council Votes 6-1 to Advance $20.1B Tunnel Project

The Delta Stewardship Council voted 6-1 last week to advance Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed 45-mile Delta Conveyance Project, a $20.1 billion tunnel designed to reroute Sacramento River water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to bolster supplies for cities and farms serving two-thirds of Californians, primarily in the south. While Newsom hailed the decision as a major milestone, stating the state is "closer than ever to seeing this important piece of infrastructure completed," significant legal, financial and regulatory challenges remain.

The project aims to address vulnerabilities in California's water system by bypassing the ecologically fragile Delta, where pumps currently draw northern river water southward through a network of aging levees threatened by earthquakes, sea-level rise, storms and climate-driven extremes. State officials and water suppliers argue it is essential to protect supplies amid worsening droughts and disasters. The Delta faces degradation from algal blooms, poor water quality and declining fish populations, prompting decades of debate over alternatives.

Opponents, including Delta residents, environmentalists and fishing interests, contend the tunnel...