![]() ![]() ![]() But they are working to have a similar public review period that overlaps so that the public can review both documents simultaneously. Buckman noted that they will be different documents as a regulatory agency, the Corps wanted to have a separate environmental impact statement. Additionally, the Corps of Engineers is preparing a draft environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA, and they are working to have the draft EIS completed on a similar timeline. Schedule and timelineĬurrently, the Department is working towards releasing a draft EIR for public comment in mid-2022. The number of intakes in the North Delta would vary based on the size of the intakes. The proposed project is 6000 CFS, but it could range from 3000 to 7500. ![]() The Bethany alternative would follow the same tunnel alignment as the Eastern corridor, but rather than connecting to a southern forebay, it would instead connect to Bethany Reservoir through a pumping plant, thus eliminating the southern forebay as flows would not need to be regulated. The central and eastern corridors would come together into a southern forebay and a pumping facility that would regulate flows between the tunnel and the Bank’s pumping plant up into the California Aqueduct. The tunnel would follow one of the routes shown on this map, either a corridor that goes through the central Delta, shown in green, or an eastern corridor closer to I-5, shown in blue. The project would construct intakes along the Sacramento River and a tunnel connecting those intakes to the south Delta. The project will address sea level rise and climate change, minimize water supply disruption due to seismic risk, protect water supply reliability, and provide operational flexibility to improve aquatic conditions. Buckman said the purpose of the Delta Conveyance Project is to modernize the aging State Water Project infrastructure in the Delta to restore and protect the reliability of SWP water deliveries in a cost-effective manner, consistent with the State’s water resilience portfolio. However, there will be a formal public review period once the draft EIR is published and many opportunities for public comments on that draft. The Department is in the process of evaluating the impacts of the project, so the results aren’t known yet. The goal is to share the methodology and assumptions the Department is using to evaluate the project’s environmental effects. The purpose of these webinars is to provide background on technical topics in advance of the release of the draft environmental impact report or EIR, expected in mid-2022. Delta Conveyance Project backgroundĬarrie Buckman, the Delta Conveyance Project Environmental Project Program Manager with the Department of Water Resources, began the program by discussing the proposed project, the overall schedule, the planning processes, and future opportunities for public participation. The Delta Conveyance Project is listed as one of the current priorities in the Newsom Administration’s Water Resilience Portfolio. The controversial project has been sought for decades and has gone through several iterations: most recently, the California Water Fix and, before that, the Bay Delta Conservation Project. The Delta Conveyance Project is a proposal by the Department of Water Resources to create an additional point of diversion in the northern Delta along the Sacramento River and a tunnel to convey water under the Delta to the export facilities in the South Delta. The draft EIR is expected to be completed in mid-2022, and a formal public review and comment period will occur at that time. The webinars were not a formal public input opportunity for the Delta Conveyance Project rather, they are intended to keep the public and interested stakeholders informed about the current progress of the preparation of the draft EIR and to provide background about the approaches, methodologies, and assumptions that will be utilized in conducting impact analyses in the draft EIR. This post covers the third webinar in the series focusing on climate change. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) hosted four informational webinars between July and September 2021 to provide background information related to the preparation of the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Delta Conveyance Project. ![]()
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