CA Water Commission seeking more info as they decide how to allocate water storage funding

NORTHSTATE, Calif. — Members of the California Water Commission met on the morning of March 19, going over options for how to distribute over $525 million of funding.

At the meeting, the commission discussed how to use Water Storage Investment Program, or WSIP, funding, in addition to money made available through Proposition 4.

Commission staff gave the latest on WSIP program projects, including the Sites Reservoir Project in the Northstate.

Community members also voiced their thoughts. Friends of the River Policy Director Keiko Mertz spoke during public testimony, saying in part, “Sites Reservoir Project has some major obstacles remaining… If the authority is counting on a potential small, additional allocation of WSIP funds in order to sort out agreements with project participants, that would suggest to me that the project is on the razor’s edge of feasibility.”

The commission had three options and decided they’ll get further info on projects with Maximum Conditional Eligible Determination, or MCEDs, while adjusting the Harvest Water Program award amount now.

RELATED: Sites Reservoir project receives $134 million federal funding boost

Commissioners expressed their eagerness for all projects to get going.

“I would just ask staff and the commission to consider to talk to agencies about needs, where they’re at in the process and all that, that we challenge the applicants to see, how can you construct quicker?” Commissioner Jose Solorio said.

Another commissioner, Daniel Curtin, said, “I want all of these projects to work. We’re down to six. I don’t want to be down to five, I don’t want to be down to four. I don’t want to reallocate again.”

Coming up in July, the CWC will decide whether to give inflationary increases to some or all of the remaining projects.

You can find out more details about the March 19 meeting on the California Water Commission’s web page here.