Delta tunnels: Firmer cost estimates spelled out for Gov. Jerry Brown’s water plan
By Paul Burgarino and Steven Harmon Staff writers San Jose Mercury News Posted: MercuryNews.com
MILPITAS — The cost of Gov. Jerry Brown’s controversial plan to build two massive tunnels to move water from north to south increased more than a billion dollars to $24.7 billion on Wednesday, but officials insisted it will be a bargain for water users around the state.
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That prompted University of the Pacific economist Jeffrey Michael to note that the cost of the tunnels alone has increased in little over a year from $12.8 billion to $14.5 billion “even though the water delivery capacity of the tunnels was decreased by 40 percent.”
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“The first estimate was $4 billion — and is now more than $14 billion,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, the group’s executive director. “This will not restore the Delta, and the cost will be shifted to taxpayers so that they can support water deliveries for a few water takers.”
California plan to overhaul water system hub to cost $25 billion
Bettina Boxall in the Los Angeles Times
— The proposal calls for habitat restoration and two tunnels to divert water from the Sacramento River under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to southbound pumps. …
But tunnel opponents argue that urban users will wind up footing much more of the bill because agriculture won’t be able to afford its share. “They’re irrational costs for a subset of San Joaquin Valley farmers to bear,” said Jeffrey Michael, director of the Business Forecasting Center at the University of the Pacific in Stockton. “Urban users are going to pay much more for this than they’ve been told and the usual cost overruns will just make the problems worse,” he said.
By Alex Breitler May 30, 2013 Record Staff Writer
A plan to build twin tunnels beneath the Delta has a new price tag: $24.5 billion.
The cost of Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal has increased by more than a billion dollars since the last formal estimate in February 2012, even though the project has since been downsized, according to documents released Wednesday.
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University of the Pacific economist Jeffrey Michael, who has worked in the past as a consultant for a commission that opposes the tunnels, said Wednesday that the latest financing plan appears flawed.
CVBT – STOCKTON May 29, 2013
Gov. Jerry Brown’s Bay Delta Conservation plan costs are being questioned. The costs were released Wednesday.
Mr. Brown says the total cost of BDCP is $24.5 billion during its 50-year implementation period.
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But Mr. Brown’s cost figures are being questioned by independent economist Jeffrey Michael, director of the University of the Pacific’s Business Forecasting Center in Stockton.
Who Benefits from California’s Water Plan?
The California Report- Reporter: Lauren Sommer
California Governor Jerry Brown’s Administration has put a price tag on its major new water plan–$24 billion for a pair of tunnels in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Officials say Californians would be buying a more reliable water supply, but there are questions about who benefits the most.