BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Title
California WaterFix Update, Including Water Supply Analysis, Cost and Water Allocation, and Financing.
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Receive and discuss information on the California WaterFix, including a water supply analysis, cost and water allocations, and financing.
Body
SUMMARY:
This agenda item provides an opportunity for the Board and the public to receive information on the proposed California WaterFix (WaterFix) project, which is intended to help restore the health of the Delta ecosystem and to ensure the long-term reliability of water supplies conveyed through the Delta. The proposed WaterFix includes dual tunnels under the Delta that would provide an alternative conveyance pathway for moving water from the north Delta to the existing pumping plants in the south Delta. The addition of proposed WaterFix intakes in the north Delta would allow the State and federal water projects to adjust operations in response to environmental conditions and climate change effects, protect exports from the threat of salinity intrusion from levee failures and sea level rise, improve access to transfer supplies, and enhance the benefit of storage projects. The WaterFix is also expected to improve flow patterns in the Delta and reduce fish entrainment.
Because Santa Clara County relies on State Water Project (SWP) and Central Valley Project (CVP) water supplies conveyed through the Delta to meet 40 percent, on average, of its water supply needs, the District has an interest in the development of the WaterFix as a potential cost-effective project that could improve the reliability of the District's imported water supplies.
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) is proceeding with WaterFix as an integral part of the SWP. Under this approach, the costs and benefits of the WaterFix would be allocated to all State Water Project contractors south of the Delta, including the District, through existing contracts. The U...
Click here for full text