Restore the Delta has heard that BDCP planners think the state has no obligation to do a cost/benefit analysis of building conveyance in the Delta. If you want to know about costs and benefits, we can listen in on board meetings for the Metropolitan Water District and Westlands. They’re the ones who will be paying for conveyance with revenue bonds.
We don’t think revenue bonds that pay for building a big tunnel will come anywhere near covering all the direct and indirect costs to the Delta region and Northern California, to habitat and the public trust.
We also don’t think that the ratepayers who are in line to back these revenue bonds have any idea what they are in for. Certainly not a future of affordable water.
In addition, the State will still be on the hook for operating the project if it is built. Shouldn’t the State evaluate the cost of operating the project and perhaps compare if spending that money each year thereafter would be better used creating water conservation and recycling projects that promote regional self sufficiency?