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Legislators are making decisions on this in the next two weeks. We need your voice now!
Talking Points
The tunnel project is irreversibly destructive to a fragile ecosystem that is home to millions of people in five counties, as well as a critically important habitat.
The project estimate is $20 billion (at only 5-10% design), and the Department of Water Resources (DWR) says the costs won’t exceed this estimate. No state project in California’s history has stayed within its original budget, so how would these additional costs be covered? Paid for with bond funds, there would be no limit on what may be charged via water and property tax bills. It's essentially a blank check for the project at the expense of California residents.
The project is predicated on taking almost 4,000 acres of private property in 3 counties to complete the project through eminent domain.
Department of Water Resources admits that this project will not adequately address our state’s water needs. If this is built, we will have destroyed property, communities with 45 miles of a 39-foot-wide tunnel, and still not solved the problem.
California has spent five decades, and a lot of money, trying to justify building a tunnel—a project conceived of in mid-last century—rather than designing solutions that will genuinely address our future water needs.
DWR claims this tunnel will only operate during higher flows. If that is true, it wouldn’t help in drought or dry years, which climate change is expected to make more frequent.
Even if everything about this project went as planned (a huge if), it would undoubtedly damage a vital water source for California residents, generating a whole new set of challenges.
