Officials eyeing 2024 to break ground on the Sites Reservoir

CHICO, Calif. — The Sites Reservoir, a project that has been been decades in the making, is currently on track to break ground in 2024, although for some the project could not come soon enough.

When full it could hold enough water to supply 3-million households for one year, helping offer relief during dry periods like we're experiencing now.

"Anything you do to add to the water supply is going to relieve the pressure on the supply we already have," said Congressman LaMalfa discussing the proposed reservoir.

As a lawmaker and farmer, LaMalfa is a proponent of the project.

The Sites Reservoir, also known as Sites, would capture and store water during extremely rainy seasons for use during dry seasons.

"The water that's being captured and stored is water that flows into the Sacramento River downstream of the Keswick Dam and the Shasta Dam. The intakes for the project are on the Sacramento River, so all of the water that is flowing into the river downstream of those locations, is the water that we're seeking to pick up. But, only at times when those flows are very high, and in excess of meeting all the other water user and environmental needs that exists on the river system," explained Jerry Brown, the executive director of the Site Reservoir Project. "It's kind of an insurance policy for the dry years, something we're seeing right now that we badly need," he added.

With water allocations being cut for farmers throughout northern and central California this project could help them sustain their crops during really dry seasons.

"If agriculture is killed off in California, the whole country suffers because many crops grown in our state supplying 90% or more of the fruit crops, nut crops and vegetable crops that the whole country uses," said LaMalfa.

Opponents of the project argue Sites will further threaten salmon and other fish species, but Brown said that is a concern of their board as well and an issue they are addressing.

"When this project becomes part of the river system, it will be incumbent upon them and everyone else that has an interest in the river to ensure that that populations of salmon and other aquatic species are protected. We've done a lot of work and made a lot of adjustments to the project operations to make the conditions under which we draw water out of the river more restrictive, exactly for those reasons to protect the salmon. On top of that all of the locations where we're diverting water are screen facilities, which means there's a physical barrier that prevents fish from being drawn into with the water that we're conveying to the reservoir."

Brown hopes construction will begin in late 2024. They are currently moving forward with a water rights process and securing critical permits.

"I wish we could start sooner, but getting started at all, at least is something and five to seven years will be maybe benefiting by the end from storing water and having that available for supply for everyone," said LaMalfa.

The project comes with a $4-billion price tag. The passage of Prop 1 by California voters will allow the state to fund part of the project. Other funding sources will come from the federal government and the local agencies participating as potential beneficiaries of the project.