SACRAMENTO, CA – The State Water Resources Control Board has decided to extend the “protest period” for the proposed Sites Reservoir, opposed by a coalition of fishing groups, Tribes, conservation groups and environmental justice advocates, from August 1st to August 31st at the request of the North Delta Water Agency.
The State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Rights, issued a Notice of Water Right Application for Sites Project Authority’s application to appropriate water by permit (A025517X01) on June 2, 2023. On June 26, 2023, North Delta Water Agency requested additional time for potentially affected parties to review the application and, if necessary, file protests.
“In response to this request, the Division of Water Rights determined that good cause exists to extend the protest deadline by 30 days,” the notice from the State Water Board stated.
Friends of the River, one of California’s oldest and most respected river conservation organizations, applauded the decision to extend the deadline in a statement to August 31st.
“This gives environmentalists, wildlife advocates, water agencies, tribes and other affected communities, and government agencies more time to weigh in on the Sites Reservoir boondoggle,” said Jann Dorman, Executive Director at Friends of the River.
“The State of California needs to hear from all stakeholders as it considers the disastrous proposal to build a series of dams to create Sites Reservoir – a multi-billion dollar project,” Dorman stated. “Sites will harm the Sacramento River and Delta while proponents’ own estimates show that it will only increase the state water supply by less than 1%. Our state deserves better, and the protest period extension will ensure that more voices are heard.”
Dorman said the group believes the state can deliver more water to water-stricken communities at a lower financial and environmental cost through more investments in water conservation and recycling, better agricultural water management and efficiency, improved agricultural land use diversification, and expanded groundwater recharge.
The Sites Reservoir Project will be situated on the west side of the Sacramento Valley, approximately 10 miles west of Maxwell, in Glenn and Colusa Counties.
The Sites Reservoir Authority website describes the project as “an environmentally beneficial, off-river reservoir that will capture excess water from major storms and save it for drier periods, helping California’s farms, businesses and cities continue to supply reliable water when other sources are low.”
However, Friends of the River noted that the Sites Project Authority wants to build two massive dams and nine other dams, combined to flood the Antelope Valley in the Northern Sacramento Valley and “forever alter a picturesque landscape and habitat.”
“More than 78 miles of the Sacramento River would see reduced or altered water flows. Millions of Californians would see their communities forever altered and livelihoods jeopardized,” the group stated.
According to FOR, in some months, Sites could reduce flows in the Delta by 11%; Trinity River by up to 17%; Feather River by up to 18%; American River by up to 16%; Sutter Bypass by up to 21%; and Yolo Bypass by up to 36%.
“This impacts communities — including fishing and tourism economies — all over Northern California. During critically dry years, Sites could allow water diversions to take more than half of the Sacramento River’s flow. California communities deserve better!” the group concluded.
The project is proceeding at a time when the Central Valley salmon populations have collapsed, due to abysmal state and federal government water and fishery management during the recent drought, according to fish advocates. All recreational and commercial fishing has been closed in the ocean in California and most of Oregon this year, due to dramatically low numbers of fall-run Chinook salmon returns to the Sacramento and Klamath River systems. Salmon fishing in the Sacramento and Klamath River rivers is also closed this year.
You can read more about Friends of the River’s position on Sites Reservoir and alternatives to it HERE.