California Environmental groups on April 29 challenged in court the state Dept. of Water Resources decision not to include a proposed 40-mile tunnel in its most recent environmental assessment needed to reauthorize long-term operation of the State Water Project—a 700-mile system of dams and aqueducts that moves water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to areas in the south.
The lawsuit comes as state water users now have legally challenged changes in amounts of water that can be delivered by the state system and as the state battles Trump Administration changes in its management of water delivery from the federal Central Valley Project system to expand amounts for agriculture.