The Sites Reservoir Project is receiving additional federal support through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In a recent announcement, the Department of the Interior committed $30 million towards the project. The funding is part of a $210 million investment in drought mitigation and resilience efforts. With the latest funding support announcement, the Sites Reservoir Project has now received approximately $134 million in federal funding. The storage project will have the capacity to store up to 1.5 million acre-feet of water in the Sacramento River system.
“Water is essential to every community – for feeding families, growing crops, powering agricultural businesses, and sustaining wildlife and our environment,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “Through the investments we are announcing today, we will advance water storage and conveyance supporting local water management agencies, farmers, families and wildlife.”
After regulatory requirements and other water rights are adhered to, Sites Reservoir captures and stores stormwater flows from the Sacramento River. The reservoir would utilize new and existing facilities to move water in and out. Water will ultimately be released to the Sacramento River system via existing canals, a new pipeline near Dunnigan, and the Colusa Basin Drain.
“We appreciate that our federal partners continue to recognize the importance of Sites Reservoir and the positive impact it will have on California,” Sites Project Authority Chairman, Fritz Durst said in a news release. “Through Sites, we are building smarter infrastructure that will provide water supplies for people, farms and the environment when it’s needed most.”
The overall $210 million investment is going towards water storage and conveyance projects in Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, and Washington. Other California investments include $25 million for the B.F. Sisk Dam Raise and Reservoir Expansion Project and $82 million for phase two of the Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion project. Altogether, the projects are projected to deliver over 1.7 million acre-feet of additional water storage capacity.
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