Thursday December 12, 2024
The Sacramento Bee —
Gov. Gavin Newsom touted his administration’s plans Tuesday to build the first reservoir in decades in Northern California as the solution to maintaining the state’s water supply as extreme weather becomes a more regular occurrence.
Newsom spoke at Davis Ranches in Colusa, near the site of the planned Sites Reservoir in Maxwell. The governor argued the planned water storage project is critical to maintaining supply as drought becomes more common.
He fast-tracked the $4.5 billion project via legislation passed last year that expedites legal challenges filed under the Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
“We now want to expand that streamlining…to ground water replenishment as well,” Newsom said Tuesday. “It’s about above groundwater, and we’re going to get Sites done, and we’re going to continue to advocate for federal resources.”