The San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority has signed a cost share agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation for the B.F. Sisk Dam Raise and Reservoir Expansion Project.
The project will create an additional 130,000 acre-feet of storage space in the San Luis Reservoir.
Driving the news: Funding for the project includes $125 million from the 2021 infrastructure law that was announced earlier in January.
- The project had already received $75 million that was announced last May, $10 million that was announced in 2023 and $25 million announced in 2022.
- The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act also authorized $60 million for the project, bringing the total to $295 million.
Flashback: The infrastructure law already provided the B.F. Sisk Dam with $100 million for a separate project that will increase the dam crest by 10 feet to improve seismic fortification.
What they’re saying: San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority Board Chair Cannon Michael praised the project for improving water supplies for the region.
- “This project advances our goal to improve our communities’ access to clean drinking water for residents, improve water reliability to continue to feed America, and to support the health of the habitat upon which our native species and migratory waterfowl on the Pacific Flyway depend,” Michael said. “We value the funding contributions and working relationship with our federal partners in the Bureau of Reclamation and look forward to advancing this important water storage project.”
- Bureau of Reclamation Regional Director Karl Stock added, “This exciting milestone represents forward momentum not only as it relates to increasing water storage capacity in the region, but also the collaborative relationship we have with our partners,” Stock said. “This increase in water storage capacity south-of-Delta in San Luis Reservoir will bolster our ability to enhance water reliability for California communities, agriculture, and wildlife.”