Last year, California experienced weather whiplash. After years of severe drought, 2023 saw heavy rains and snowfalls that flooded the state, recharged groundwater, and filled our reservoirs. While we are desperately needed, we cannot pretend the good times will last. We are facing increasingly drier years, and it won’t be long before we face drought again.

Now is the time to prepare our water infrastructure for the future.

Currently, lawmakers in Sacramento are working to close a $37.9 billion deficit. While we’ve made progress at the state level in recent years – including providing $8.6 billion in state funding for water projects – pulling back on water infrastructure funding now could jeopardize other federal and local funding sources for important projects already underway.

We need to find a way for the government to continue to do its part as a financing partner to keep project proponents at the negotiating table and to move these projects forward.

Opinion

One example is the Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir, a proposed 800-acre storage basin in the foothills of the Diablo Range in the Central Valley, west of the city of Patterson. The reservoir will be able to store up to 82,000 acre-feet of water, and the project will provide tremendous benefits to water users in our region, including residents, farmers, and conservation areas.

The Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir will create storage for agricultural purposes, which is important to the local economy as agriculture employs over 100,000 people in the region. Disadvantaged communities south of the Delta, many of which lack reliable access to water, will enjoy numerous public benefits, including improved groundwater management and increased groundwater recharge as the reservoir will help stabilize the water table needed for reliable well production. The reservoir will also help reduce flooding in these communities as it will be able to store excess water, as we experienced during last season’s heavy rains.

Importantly, the water stored in the reservoir from the Central Valley Project will not increase Delta exports. Rather, it will provide water recipients with a new place to store their current water allocations, allowing them to better manage their supplies and store water when it is abundant to release during dry periods.

Three-quarters of the current funding for the design and construction of the estimated $1.1 billion project comes from the Del Puerto Water District and the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority, with the remaining 25% coming from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The project is expected to submit an updated environmental impact report within the next few months.

While investments in water infrastructure are too often portrayed as a battle between agricultural and environmental interests, the Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir is an example of how one project can serve multiple beneficial purposes.

At least a quarter to a half of the storage capacity could be used by the Del Puerto Water District and the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority, which together serve over 290,000 acres of local agriculture. Discussions are also underway with the Bureau of Reclamation and regional water districts interested in additional capacity to meet local needs.

Another major beneficiary of the project is the Grasslands Ecological Area in Merced County, which is home to California’s largest wetland. The Grasslands are home to over 550 species of birds, animals, and plants, including over 40 species that are federally listed as sensitive, threatened, or endangered. They are an important stopover for migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway, a wildlife corridor that stretches from Patagonia to the Alaska Peninsula.

The Grasslands Region faces water supply challenges in dry years, as do our farmers and local communities. Approximately 13% of the storage capacity will be dedicated to the Grasslands Region, allowing water to be released into the ecological region in dry years to help stabilize these sensitive habitats. Government funding through a bond could not only help cover the costs of planning and developing the overall project, but could also be tied to additional public benefits, such as a special use for the benefit of the Grasslands Region.

Given the budget deficit, we should seek to continue federal financing of critical water projects through a bond issue next year. If we wait to act, the water shortages we have experienced recently will only worsen. Disadvantaged communities and environmentally sensitive areas will face severe water shortages, our economic recovery will be hampered, and we risk missing out on future state and local funding sources if we do not provide complementary project funding at the state level.

We must build a coalition of partners who understand that we all benefit together from investing in a safe, reliable water transportation and storage system. The benefits of projects like Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir will be felt for generations to come. Our challenge is to make fiscally responsible investments today.

State Senator Anna M. Caballero represents the 14th Senate District, which is comprised of most of Merced, Fresno and Madera counties, and serves as interim representative for the Salinas Valley and San Benito County. Ric Ortega is the general manager and director of government and legislative affairs for the Grasslands Water and Resource Conservation District.