Amid drought, California advances big new reservoir project

By ADAM BEAM
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — What could be California’s first major new reservoir in years has cleared a key regulatory hurdle. The California Water Commission on Wednesday voted in favor of the feasibility of the Sites Reservoir project. The vote means that the project stays eligible to receive more than $800 million in taxpayer money. That’s about 20% of the project’s $4 billion cost. The reservoir is the largest of seven water storage projects scheduled to receive funding from a 2014 voter-approved bond. Environmental groups oppose the project. They say it would take too much water out of the Sacramento River and harm endangered species of salmon. A climate change-fueled Western drought is so severe that many California reservoirs are at historic lows.