COUNCIL-BACKED WATER STORAGE PROJECTS MOVE CLOSER TO REALITY

Three important Bay Area water storage projects that originally were slated to receive zero or only a small portion of available state funding are now in line to get a healthy share of voter-approved Proposition 1 money after the Bay Area Council intervened. The proposed projects—the Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion, Pacheco Reservoir Expansion, and the new Sites Reservoir—are critical to improving the region’s drought resilience. Following an advocacy push by the Council and other groups, the California Water Commission on Thursday (June 28) reversed an earlier staff recommendation that failed to allocate any of $2.7 billion in Prop 1 funding to the Los Vaqueros and Pacheco projects and provided just half of what was being requested for Sites. The Commission is expected to finalize the funding awards at its July meeting. To engage in the Council’s Water Committee, please contact Vice President of Public Policy Adrian Covert.