California Construction News staff writer
California’s proposed Sites Reservoir has moved another step toward construction after the Sites Project Authority advanced the project following revisions to its water-right permit.
The revised permit from the State Water Resources Control Board could support a viable reservoir project, according to the Sites Project Authority. The project is now entering an investment period, with the final permit scheduled to go before the State Water Board on Nov. 4.
The proposed reservoir would capture water from the Sacramento River during wet periods and store it for use during drier conditions. It would have a capacity of up to 1.5 million acre-feet.
Once completed, the project is expected to provide water for communities, farms and environmental uses, as well as capture flood flows. It is also expected to provide up to 200,000 acre-feet of captured water for use during emergency-declared droughts.
The project is projected to attract about 187,000 recreational visitors annually and provide water to wildlife refuges, including the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Upper Butte Basin Wildlife Area and San Luis National Wildlife Refuge.
Earlier this year, California announced nearly $269 million in additional funding for Sites Reservoir. That brings the project’s eligibility for Water Storage Investment Program funding from Proposition 1 and Proposition 4 to a total of $1.363 billion.
The project has also benefited from streamlined judicial review under California’s environmental law, allowing it to move through a legal challenge to its environmental review.
The next major step is the State Water Board’s Nov. 4 consideration of the revised water-right permit.
