Thursday May 30, 2024
West Sacramento News Ledger —
In response to Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) cost estimate and benefit-cost analysis released for a proposed $20.1 billion Delta Conveyance Project in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, Patrick Hume, Chair of the Delta Counties Coalition (DCC), made the following statement on behalf of the five jurisdictions that would be most negatively impacted:
“Upon initial review, this analysis presents accurately neither the costs, nor the benefits of this last-century proposal. These reports are the latest attempt by the State to justify the Delta Conveyance Project and were conducted with the same preoccupation that the tunnel is the most desirable proposal, lacking acknowledgement of the more cost-effective and environmentally benign alternatives.
As with DWR’s previous economic studies, this analysis includes a number of unreasonable assumptions, including overstating potential costs to water exporters associated with sea level rise and earthquakes. It also fails to fully account for the negative environmental, economic, recreational and societal impacts for the 4 million people who live and work in the Delta. Not to mention that their environmental analysis to date only examines construction impacts, not operational impacts.
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