The Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA), Western Municipal Water District (Western Water), Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD), and Three Valleys Municipal Water District (Three Valleys/TVMWD) is issuing strong support for Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent proposal to streamline and expedite approvals for the long-awaited Delta Conveyance Project (DCP).
The DCP is a critical infrastructure project that aims to modernize the State Water Project’s (SWP) delivery system by constructing a new, single-tunnel conveyance pipeline through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The SWP provides clean water to 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland.
“Eastern Municipal Water District’s Board of Directors (EMWD) unanimously adopted a resolution in support of the DCP, underscoring our commitment to ensuring sustainable and reliable water supply for our region," stated Joe Mouawad, EMWD’s General Manager. “EMWD relies on the SWP for about two-thirds of its imported water supply, and despite aggressive measures to develop local water supplies, will continue to rely on SWP supplies to serve our growing population. This water supply is also crucial to EMWD because its high quality (low salinity) helps extend the sustainability of our recycled water program.”
And, while the SWP helps to manage California’s water supply during floods and droughts, there have been significant challenges and deficiencies with the current infrastructure, leading to significant water supply loss. The DCP is critical to protecting the reliability of the SWP from threats by extreme weather fluctuations, seismic activity, and aging infrastructure. In 2024 alone, the DCP could have captured water for 9.8 million Californians’ annual usage.
“Southwest Riverside County is one of the fastest-growing regions in Southern California, and our nearly one million customers rely on the high quality, affordable imported water flowing from the State Water Project,” said Craig Miller, General Manager of Western Water. “That’s why our Board of Directors moved to unanimously support the Delta Conveyance Project last October. The State Water Project is the backbone of California’s economy—supporting communities, industries, and ecosystems. Investing in modern water infrastructure like the DCP ensures we can adapt to a changing climate, protect jobs and the environment, preserve lifestyles, and keep California economically competitive for generations to come. While local water agencies will continue to work towards developing their local water supply resilience by building and expanding local water projects, the SWP will continue to be the most affordable and reliable source of water, even compared to water recycling, conservation, stormwater capture, and ocean desalination projects.”
The proposal by Governor Newsom includes measures that will simplify permitting processes, confirm funding authorities, and streamline judicial reviews to reduce unnecessary delays and costs associated with the project. The Governor reported that these measures would save more than $365 million for every year of avoided delay.
“As a State Water Project dependent area, the IEUA service area relies on imported water for over 30% of the region’s water supply,” stated Shivaji Deshmukh, IEUA General Manager. “While IEUA has and will continue to prioritize the development of drought-resistant local supplies, today we are still reliant on SWP imports to meet the needs of our growing community. The DCP is essential to ensuring that the SWP remains a reliable water supply for both Northern and Southern California residents, industries, and agriculture. Expediting the process to advance the DCP is necessary to ensure that the SWP can continue to meet the needs of our communities while maintaining rate affordability.”
The DCP has made tremendous progress in recent years with the certification of a final environmental impact report in December 2023 and securing financial support from water agencies throughout the State. However, the project is facing complicated regulatory frameworks and bureaucratic delays.
“The next two to three years will be some of the most important to make this project come to life,” indicated TVMWD General Manager and Chief Engineer, Matthew Litchfield. “Portions of Three Valley’s service area can only receive imported water from the State Water Project, not from Colorado River water,” Litchfield explained.
During the recent prolonged drought, Metropolitan Water District and its member agencies received for the first time a zero percent allocation from the State Water Project. To provide imported water to the State Water-dependent cities, Three Valleys had to pump water uphill. “We like water to move downhill by gravity, without the expensive energy cost of pumping water. We had to flip our operation completely around during the zero percent allocation period,” Litchfield said.
If the Delta Conveyance Project had been in place, IEUA, Western Water, EMWD, and Three Valleys would have had access to more stored water on the State system and could have avoided using drought contingency plans and severe outdoor water restrictions.
IEUA, Western Water, EMWD, and Three Valleys applaud the Governor’s proposal to protect the State’s most critical water supply urge the Legislature to enact these provisions. Our agencies are dedicated to supporting the advancement of the DCP as well as local supply projects that will protect the health and well-being of our communities.