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Sites Reservoir receives an additional $134 million in federal funding from Trump regime [1]
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Date: 2025-03-20
The Sites Reservoir Project in California, a controversial water project promoted by Governor Gavin Newson and opposed by a coalition of environmental groups, fishing groups and Tribes, recently received $134 million in federal funding.
The $134 million brings the total federal investment in the project to $780.15 million. The money comes from the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act) that provides funding to “improve water infrastructure throughout the United States,” according to an announcement from the Sites Authority.
“The continued bipartisan support for Sites Reservoir shows we all agree—we desperately need more water storage in California to prepare for the future,” said Fritz Durst, Chair of the Sites Project Authority Board of Directors. “This announcement brings the WIIN Act funding designated to Sites Reservoir closer to the level the Authority and Reclamation have been working to secure and we’re grateful to our federal partners for helping to advance this critical project closer to construction.”
The Sites Project Authority claimed it will “continue to work with the Bureau of Reclamation” on achieving their 16% participation goal as space in the reservoir becomes available and sufficient funds are appropriated to the Project. Reclamation recently signed off on its basis of negotiations for a Partnership Agreement where this participation will be formalized.
The Authority also claimed the project will provide an additional 1.5 million acre-feet of storage capacity, “substantially improving the state’s water flexibility, reliability, and resiliency in drier years.”
In contrast with the Authority’s glowing praise about the project, opponents of Sites say the reservoir would cause enormous damage to already collapsing populations of Sacramento River Chinook salmon and Delta fish populations.
Critics of the project also note that the $134 million is not a grant, but a low interest loan. At the February California Water Commission meeting there was discussion of the Sites “financial cliff” and running out of planning money.
“Planned for Glenn and Colusa counties near the town of Sites, the reservoir would hold about one-third the volume of Shasta Lake and would be filled by diverting large amounts of water from the Sacramento River,” said Scott Artis, Executive Director of the Golden State Salmon Association. “This would degrade water quality for local communities and threaten already struggling salmon populations.”
“While Newsom promotes the project as a way to create jobs in California, his water policies have already destroyed countless jobs in the salmon fishing industry. Taking more water from an over-allocated Sacramento River is not the solution to restoring salmon or the communities that rely on them,” he argued.
Sierra Club California Water Campaign Manager Caty Wagner agreed with Artis on his assessment of the project — and pointed out that it will be enormously expensive.
“Receiving funding from the WIIN Act isn’t a ‘win’ for the environment,” Wagner said. “It will still cost at least $8 billion dollars, which will be paid for by water rates and property taxes in participating areas. $134 million is not much of a discount by comparison, especially since it is the sister project to the $20 billion- plus Delta Conveyance Project. This is a lot of money to spend on imported water when Californians want local, sustainable supply projects that keep jobs local.”
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