Willow Springs Water Bank Conjunctive Use Project

Applicant	Southern California Water Bank Authority
Status	MCED Issued
Project Type	Conjunctive Use
Public Benefits	Ecosystem Improvements, Emergency Response
Total Project Cost	$343,000,000
Maximum Conditional Eligibility Determination (MCED)	$128,274,876
Early Funding	$6,413,744

Projected Timeline

Environmental Documentation: An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was completed in 2016. The Pulse Flow EIR, certified by the Department of Water Resources (DWR), needs to be adopted by the project. Additional environmental documentation for conveyance is expected to be completed by the end of 2025

Permits and Approvals: An exchange agreement for pulse flows is expected by early 2027. It is unknown if additional agreements are needed until the final pipeline alignment is determined.

Public Benefit Contracts: Contracts with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for pulse flows on the Feather River, and DWR for emergency response benefits are expected to be completed in mid-2026.

Non-Program Funding: An agreement with the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency (AVEK) is expected to be completed in November 2025.

* Completion dates are Commission staff’s best estimates based on applicants’ quarterly reports and other public information as of July 30, 2025.

The Southern California Water Bank Authority is proposing the Willow Springs Water Bank Conjunctive Use Project (WSWB Project). The Willow Springs Water Bank is an existing facility located in the adjudicated Antelope Valley Groundwater Basin. The WSWB Project is proposed as a conjunctive use and reservoir reoperation project that would integrate the State Water Project (SWP) reservoir and conveyance system with south‐of‐Delta groundwater storage. The WSWB Project will leverage 500 thousand acre feet (TAF) of existing groundwater storage facilities and operate conjunctively with the SWP and provide ecosystem benefits north of the Delta. Operations of the WSWB Project to provide ecosystem benefits would require agreements with one or more SWP partners to forego SWP delivery in exchange for receiving WSWB Project water, and agreements with the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to re-operate Oroville reservoir and manage the water to provide the ecosystem benefit.