Twin Tunnels on Hold, DWR Withdraws Request for Certification from Delta Stewardship Council

Although former Republican California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and current Democrat Governor Jerry Brown agreed on the need for a new conveyance system to transport water from the north end to the southern end of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, it will soon become an issue to be tackled by Governor-elect Gavin Newsom. Newsom will inherit the near $17 billion plan to bore twin tunnels from the Sacramento River 30 miles south to the massive pumps near Tracy. However, his passion for the project does not appear to match that of lame duck Gov. Brown’s.

Whereas Gov. Schwarzenegger’s administration initiated the current version of the tunnels, it has become Gov.Brown’s zeal that has moved the project forward. Brown has cited climate change and sea level rise – much less the on-going droughts that plague the state – as the need for WaterFixes’ twin tunnels.

However, the state’s Department of Water Resources withdrew a request to the Delta Stewardship Council, which has authority over the Delta, last Friday for the certification needed to approve the tunnels. The Council’s staff had indicated that they needed more information and their upcoming vote on the certification wasn’t likely to be approved.

The withdrawal signifies that the approval for the tunnels will likely not happen before Gov. Brown leaves office. The project must adhere to the policy goals mandated by state law that safeguards and restores the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta – the West Coast’s largest estuary eco-system — on an equal status with the need for more reliable water supplies in central and southern California. The policy goals, known as the Delta Plan, are a balancing act between the Delta’s environmental needs vs. the water needs elsewhere in the state.

But, according to the Sacramento Bee, the DWR maintains confidence in the Delta’s WaterFix plan.

“WaterFix will continue to move forward,” DWR spokeswoman Erin Mellon said in an email. “We will work with the Delta Stewardship Council to resolve issues related to Delta Plan interpretation and plan to submit a revised certification.”

Jeff Kightlinger, general manager for the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California, the mammoth south state water agency who is bankrolling $10.8 billion of WaterFix’s total cost, likened the situation to a situation that can easily be resolved. He put a more positive spin on the situation.

“I hope it’s just a time issue,like a fix-it ticket,” said Kightlinger. “Rather than fight it and appeal it, I figured, let’s just pull it back we’ll get that more information to them and move forward. … We’ve been working on this over a decade. A few months isn’t going to kill anything.”

Regardless of whether the situation is a long-term setback or the quick fix Kightlinger is hoping for it’s doubtful Gov. Brown will see WaterFix’s twin tunnel green-lighted before he leaves office on Jan. 7. Although he had hoped for the approval of WaterFix to be a defining moment of his administration, for now, the Delta Stewardship Council and the Delta Plan have prevailed in holding WaterFix at bay.