VOL. 44 • ISS. 4 April 25, 2025

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ACRAMENTO- I recently received the latest Delta Conveyance Project update from the Department of Water Resources. The agency claimed that it is a“ myth” that it intends to increase water exports from current levels to state water contractors if the Delta Tunnel is built: Myth: DWR intends to increase deliveries through the Delta from current levels, even during droughts. Fact: What this myth conveniently omits is that the State Water Project is facing a reduction in delivery capability and supply reliability by as much as 23 % over the next 20 years. We will lose much more over the life of the system due to climate change, sea level rise, and wild swings in precipitation patterns. The purpose of the Delta Conveyance Project is to minimize these future losses and protect reliability for 27 million Californians. State Water Project deliveries have declined, and will continue to decline, yet with the DCP the declines will be lessened and all Delta water quality and fishery protections will continue to be sustained. To call this an“ increase” is simply untrue and misleading. Additional Myths / Facts can be found here. However, written testimony from a Department of Water Resources engineer submitted to a State Water Resources Control Board hearing on the DCP tells a much different story. His testimony reveals that the project will indeed maximize deliveries from the Sacramento / San Joaquin Delta,“ accelerating the death spiral of the already beleaguered estuary,” according to an analysis by the California Water Impact Network( C-WIN). The testimony of DWR engineer Amardeep Singh states that the DCP will increase water deliveries from the Delta by 22 %.“ DCP operation will not decrease water supply for Central Valley Project( CVP) contractors and will increase water supply for SWP Table A contractors by 22 percent,” he states on page 2 of his testimony. Then on page 20 of his testimony, Singh again clearly states,“ Finally, DCP operation will not decrease water supply for CVP contractors and will increase water supply for SWP Table A contractors by 22 percent.” Moreover, during drought periods when fish are already strained by low flows and high temperatures, the DCP would increase deliveries by 24 %.“ This project is a blatant attempt to maximize exports from the Delta for the benefit of large development and agricultural interests in Southern

California and Kern County,” said Max Gomberg, a California Water Impact Network board member and Senior Policy Advisor.“ Delta communities, tribes, local farmers and our iconic salmon are already suffering from inadequate freshwater flows. Jacking up exports by 22 % would be the estuary’ s death knell.” Gomberg characterized the DCP as a classic“ bait and switch.”“ Governor Newsom and his lieutenants have touted the DCP as necessary to reduce risk to water delivery infrastructure, and that message taps into our fears about water scarcity,” Gomberg said.“ But what the project is really about is ensuring the SWP will deliver more – much more – water. And as that fact and the tremendous ratepayer burden becomes clear, opposition to the Delta Tunnel will grow.”“ The Newsom administration is well aware that there are more cost-effective ways to ensure water supply reliability than building a $ 20 + billion tunnel,” said Gomberg.“ But those options do not line the pockets of corporate agriculture and suburban sprawl developers and produce campaign contributions.” State Water Resources Control Board hearings on the Delta Tunnel are expected to run from April through the summer months. The California Water Impact Network and other organizations will provide testimony in opposition to the project, which would dramatically raise rates, further degrade the Sacramento / San Joaquin Delta, and foreclose investments in more sustainable options, including conservation, recycled water, and retirement of marginal agricultural land, according to the group. The proof that the tunnel will increase water exports from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta comes at a time when the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is in its worst-ever crisis, due to massive water exports under the current Delta pumping regime. Increased water exports from the Sacramento River through the construction of the Delta Conveyance Project would only hasten the extinction of Sacramento River fall, winter and spring-run Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, Delta and longfin smelt, Sacramento splittail, green sturgeon and other fish species.

New Poll Reveals CA Voters Prefer Local, Sustainable Water Solutions Over Delta Tunnel On April 4, Restore the Delta released new polling data on California voters’ attitudes on the Delta

Conveyance Project finding that California voters overwhelmingly favor investing in affordable and sustainable local water solutions over the Delta Tunnel.“ As a result of devastating climate change-fueled events over the past decade, Californians are particularly concerned about the risk of fires and droughts, and they see local water supplies as the best way to prepare for future disasters,” the group wrote in a press statement. The Delta Conveyance Project features a 45-mile long tunnel that would take water from the Sacramento River at Hood and Courtland, bypassing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and taking water to Bethany Reservoir, then to the California Aqueduct. The project would cost over $ 20 billion to build.“ With fish populations declining and ceremonial practices being impacted by polluted waters, Tribes are already struggling to maintain their livelihoods and cultural identity,” said Malissa Tayaba, Vice Chair of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians.“ The Delta Tunnel Project would further devastate the environment and Tribal communities that have depended on the Delta since time immemorial.”“ These polling results are a clear mandate from voters across the state,” stated Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta.“ Californians want water solutions that protect the environment, are economically feasible, and prepare us for the challenges of climate change. The Delta Tunnel simply does not meet those needs and would devastate local Delta communities and ecosystems.” Key findings from the polling include the following:

• A significant majority of voters( 62 %) favor investing in local water infrastructure over the Delta Tunnel project( 24 %).

• After hearing arguments for and against the Tunnel, 58 % of voters oppose the Tunnel— 24 points higher than the 34 % who favor building it.

• 92 % of voters across the political spectrum see the Bay-Delta as important to California’ s economy and quality of life, including for communities near the Delta.

• The economic and social costs( including the negative impact to Delta Tribes and communities), along with environmental damage are voters’ top reasons for opposing the Tunnel. Representatives of Tribes and organizations in the coalition opposing the Delta Tunnel commented on the release of the poll.“ The economics of this project

By Dan Bacher

show resoundingly that it is not in the public interest,” said Max Gomberg, Water Policy Advisor of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians.“ The costs far outweigh the benefits and the alternatives are better for tribes, Delta communities, and Southern California ratepayers.”“ This year may be the third consecutive year that salmon fishing will be banned in California due to excessive water diversions,” said Mariah Lauritzen, Policy and Advocacy Manager at Golden State Salmon Association.“ This latest polling confirms that voters across the state are rightfully concerned about the future of our fish populations. The Delta Tunnel would only exacerbate these problems, severely harming local economies and jobs in the fishing industry.” The tunnel opponents say the poll“ highlights the growing awareness among Californians about the dangers of focusing on distant, expensive water projects like the Delta Tunnel, while ignoring the potential of local water solutions— especially in the wake of climatechange fueled disasters like the Los Angeles fires. The results show overwhelming support for development of local water sources to ensure long-term water resilience as the state faces ongoing droughts and increasingly frequent fires.”“ We must shift our priorities to meet the real needs of California’ s communities. By focusing on sustainable, local water solutions like wastewater recycling and stormwater capture, and by rejecting boondoggles like the Delta Tunnel, we can enhance water security without risking the health of our ecosystems and communities,” said Caty Wagner, Water Campaign Manager at Sierra Club California. Restore the Delta and its allies are calling on elected officials to reconsider their support for the Delta Tunnel project in light of this polling data. The results make it clear that it’ s time to rethink water priorities, and put resources toward local projects that will ensure tangible, affordable solutions for California communities and the environment. Methodology: Polling consisted of a multi-modal survey of n = 649 registered California voters with an oversample of Black voters conducted in English or Spanish on behalf of Restore the Delta and fielded February 11-21, 2025. Respondents could complete the survey via live interviewers over their cell or landline telephones or online in response to a text message. The margin of error is ± 4.0 percentage points( higher for subgroups).