Metropolitan Issues Statement on Release of New Cost Estimate for Delta Conveyance Project

Metropolitan Water District General Manager Adel Hagekhalil issues the following statement on the California Department of Water Resources’ release today of the cost estimate and benefit-cost analysis for the Delta Conveyance Project:

“The information released today on the cost estimate and benefit-cost analysis of the proposed Delta Conveyance Project is critical for water agencies across the state, including Metropolitan, to evaluate investment options to ensure our communities have reliable water supplies for generations to come. Metropolitan appreciates Governor Newsom’s commitment to modernize our state’s water infrastructure to meet the challenges of climate change in a transparent way.

“The State Water Project is a vital supply line for Southern California, as we learned all too well during the last drought, when more than 6 million residents in our region struggled to get the minimum supplies they needed for basic human health and safety. Climate-driven risks and other challenges in California, and across the southwest, threaten the ability to ensure reliable water for our region, home to 19 million people and the world’s 11th largest economy.

“The Delta Conveyance Project proposes to address some of these challenges and helps us keep pace with climate change. The questions are, how can this project be implemented, what kind of assurances can we have in the resilience it provides to the Delta and our water supply future, and at what price? Today’s benefit-cost analysis, together with the final EIR, will help inform our climate adaptation master planning process and brings us closer to understanding that equation. The information will help inform our Board of Directors as they make critical decisions on future investments in conservation, storage, reuse, recharge, exchange, conveyance and water quality, through our ongoing Climate Adaptation Master Planning Process (CAMP4Water).”

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