Delta Conveyance Project to receive additional $141 million in funding

This week, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) voted overwhelmingly to approve $141 million in additional funding for planning and permitting for the Delta Conveyance Project. Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the vote marks a milestone in support for the project, which once completed will protect access to clean drinking water for 27 million Californians.

MWD, the largest supplier of treated water in the United States, is a cooperative of 26 member agencies that provide water to 19 million people across six California counties. MWD’s support means water agencies serving 21 million Californians – more than half the state’s population – have now voted in favor of this major infrastructure project.

“While Los Angeles and Southern California are working to become more self-sufficient through local projects such as groundwater recharge and recycling, imported water from the State Water Project is still critical to the region’s success especially under climate change,” said California Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth.

About the Delta Conveyance Project

Part of Governor Newsom’s plan to deliver infrastructure upgrades across the state, the Delta Conveyance Project would improve California’s ability to take advantage of intense periods of rain and excess flows in the Sacramento River by creating two new intakes in the north Delta and a single tunnel connecting to the California Aqueduct via Bethany Reservoir.

California’s aging water infrastructure is not designed to cope with changing precipitation patterns resulting from climate change, including intense swings between droughts and floods and a less reliable Sierra Nevada snowpack.  The Delta Conveyance Project will help to safely capture, move and store water from big, but infrequent, storm events while also protecting against sea level rise and earthquakes.

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