“Robbing water from the north and drying out the north just to water the south doesn’t make it better at all,” said Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen, D–Elk Grove. “We need to have a balanced approach and go back and invest in water recycling and storage.”
But the administration called the caucus’ calls for other solutions “simplistic” and said they “ignore the practical realities and complexities of serving 27 million Californians.” The state needs an all-hands-on-deck approach that includes “modernizing the State Water Project while also advancing local solutions like recycling and desalination,” officials wrote.
Malissa Tayaba, vice chairperson of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, whose ancestral lands include the delta, said her tribe would be “irreparably harmed” by the project.
“We will not only lose access to our homelands that we have cared for and stewarded for time immemorial, but we will also lose our delta estuary, already in crisis,” she said. “More importantly, the Delta Conveyance Project would destroy and desecrate the resting place of our ancestors.”
Ashley Overhouse, water policy adviser for Defenders of Wildlife, said that the tunnel would undermine Southern California’s efforts to promote water resilience on its own and that Newsom needs “to end his obsession with the tunnel.”
Instead, she said Newsom should “start working more closely with Southern California communities” instead of “trying to force the tunnel down our throats” and work with delta communities on “a collaborative approach” that “everyone can get behind. It’s not too late.”
However, the Southern California Water Coalition commended Newsom’s proposal, calling it a “bold initiative” that would enhance “water resiliency and reliability for Southern California.”
“This initiative is vital for the 85% of Southern Californians who recognize the need for a secure water future,” said Charley Wilson, the group’s executive director.
