Aerial view looking east at the S Bacon Island road bridge connecting the Northern end of Bacon Island (Left) and Southern end of Mandeville Island (right), both part of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in San Joaquin County, California. DWR/2019
There is clear evidence of the vulnerabilities in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) posed by climate change and earthquake risk. As sea levels continue to rise, the Delta will be faced with increasing water levels and salinity, which will dramatically alter and harm water quality and supply locally and for 27 million Californians across the state. Immediate action is needed to upgrade Delta infrastructure, ensuring the state’s largest supply of clean water is climate resilient and able to respond to these risks.
As directed by the Governor and building on work already conducted, the Department of Water Resources is pursuing a new environmental review and planning process for a single tunnel solution to modernize Delta conveyance. This fresh approach is consistent with the Governor’s recent executive order directing state agencies to develop a portfolio of statewide water actions and investments. Modernizing Delta conveyance paired with complementary projects that improve water recycling, recharge depleted groundwater reserves, strengthen existing levee protections and improve Delta water quality, is critical to building a resilient water supply for California’s communities and economy.
The success of the state’s Water Resilience Portfolio, and of water infrastructure upgrades, relies on a strong partnership with stakeholders. The state is committed to community and public engagement as this new process moves forward.
Information regarding schedule, opportunities for public review and other announcements and updates will be posted on this page, as available.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) scoping period concluded on April 17, 2020 after an extended 93-day public comment period. DWR is reviewing all submitted comments and will publish a scoping report summarizing the information this summer.
One of the many jobs of the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is to ensure that its public infrastructure assets—like the State Water Project—are maintained and sustained for the health and well-being of present and future California families.
The nature of the COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly evolving. As individuals, organizations and local governments are focusing their attention on the safety of their communities in response to this health emergency, DWR will be extending the scoping period for the Delta Conveyance Project by four weeks.
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