FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 16, 2024
Contact: Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Restore the Delta, 209-479-2053, Barbara@restorethedelta.org
The updated $20.1 billion dollar price tag for the project does not include negative impacts to those directly affected by the project.
Stockton, CA – According to Department of Water Resources (DWR) officials in a benefit-cost analysis released today, the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) will cost a total of $20.1 billion for a single tunnel.
With annual inflation costs for construction rising to 10.7% since 2020 according to state sources, costs will continue to rise significantly during the extended permitting period prior to DCP construction, making the $20.1 billion figure obsolete before construction begins. Moreover, the DCP would transport less water when compared to the previous California WaterFix twin tunnel project that was projected to cost $16.7 billion. The DCP plan currently lacks signed agreements by water districts indicating their willingness to fund the project.
Restore the Delta’s Executive Director Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla released the following statement.
“DWR’s release is nothing more than an elaborate public relations stunt. The benefit-costs analysis is one-sided and incomplete since it only looks at benefits and costs for State Water Project customers. DWR must also analyze and include the impacts to California tribes, Delta communities and economies, the fishing community, and environmental and public safety concerns. Instead of foisting the costs of this boondoggle project onto Californians, the state should invest in sustainable water solutions that promise to restore the Delta ecosystem, not destroy it.”
For more expert views of the benefit-cost analysis, Dr. Jeff Michaels from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law offers his thoughts here.
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