Sites Reservoir Clears Major Milestone with State Board Water Right Decision
Decision advances landmark project to strengthen California’s water supply and resilience
Sacramento, Calif. — In a unanimous decision yesterday, the State Water Resources Control Board approved the water right decision and permit for the Sites Reservoir Project, marking a major milestone that clears a path for the Project to move forward after decades of planning.
The decision reflects a careful balance that preserves the Project’s viability and ability to deliver the statewide benefits Californians have long envisioned from Sites Reservoir.
“This is an important day for Sites Reservoir and for California,” said Fritz Durst, Chair of the Sites Project Authority Board of Directors. “Sites has been decades in the making, and today we are closer than ever to making it a reality. Sites is a 21st century solution for 21st century problems. With this decision, we’re ready to move forward and turn years of planning into action.”
The State Board’s decision follows an extensive public water right proceeding and decades of planning and collaboration among the Authority, its local, state and federal partners, and participating water agencies across California. The decision and permit provide greater clarity around the conditions under which Sites Reservoir will operate, including its ability to divert and store water when Sacramento River flows are high.
That certainty provides the critical foundation the Authority and participating agencies need to make significant, long-term funding commitments to the Project. With the water right decision and permit in place, the Authority is positioned to advance the Sites Reservoir Project toward construction.
“Our focus has always been on developing a Sites Reservoir Project that is affordable, permittable and buildable,” said Jerry Brown, Executive Director of the Sites Project Authority. “Reaching this point has taken sustained collaboration with our partners across California. The water right decision puts us in a strong position to move the Project toward construction.”
Sites Reservoir is an innovative, off-stream water storage project designed to capture water when Sacramento River flows are high and store it for drier periods. The Project would provide more reliable water supplies for communities, farms and businesses while creating dedicated storage for the environment and benefits for fish, migratory birds and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Sites Reservoir is a 1.5 million acre-foot, off-stream reservoir proposed north of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta that would improve California’s water reliability and resiliency in drier years for farms, families, fish, and fowl. The Project is backed by a broad coalition of cities, counties, water agencies, and irrigation districts across California, as well as the State of California through the Water Storage Investment Program and the federal government under the 2016 Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act. Additional information can be found at www.sitesproject.org or on Facebook, Instagram, and X at @SitesProject.
