A controversial plan to build a 45-mile-long tunnel to divert water from northern California to the arid south has revived with release of a draft environmental impact report by the California Dept. of Water Resources (DWR).
The 3,000-page analysis outlines multiple alternatives for the proposed Delta Conveyance Project. If built, it would take water from the Sacramento River and move it beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to reach the state’s main north-south water supply network. Optimistic scenarios estimate construction getting underway no earlier than 2028 and taking a decade to complete.