Monday July 25, 2022
The Mercury News —
Here’s a look at the status of California’s reservoirs during another drought:
There has not been much good news about California’s water supply lately, but there could be some relief on the way. The North-of-Delta Offstream Storage project, often referred to as the planned Sites Reservoir, was authorized by Congress in 2003. The long delayed project got a financial boost in March when the federal government signaled its intent to loan the project nearly $2.2 billion — about half of the cost to design, plan and build it.
The proposal would flood what’s left of the town of Sites, which has just a handful of residents in a valley of the coastal range mountains in rural Colusa County. The new reservoir could increase Northern California’s water storage capacity by up to 15% and would hold enough water to supply about 1.5 million to 3 million households for one year — although much of the water would be for agricultural purposes.
What scientists are calling a megadrought caused by climate change and is the worst in 1,200 years has given the project new life. It is also in line to get about $875 million from a voter-approved bond, plus another $450 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.