The State Water Resources Control Board issued a water quality certification for the proposed Sites Reservoir Project in Northern California. The certification satisfies one of the major requirements for construction of a 1.5 million-acre-foot water storage facility that would be the largest built in California in more than 50 years. The off-stream reservoir in Glenn and Colusa counties, near the community of Maxwell, would divert water from the Sacramento River when flows are relatively high. The stored water would serve farms, cities and the environment. The water quality certification is separate from the Sites Project Authority’s related water rights application, which the State Water Board will consider at its Nov. 4 public meeting. 

Other dam and reservoir news:

• The Mendocino Voice (Calif.): Potter Valley dam comments close Friday as Southern California district keeps fighting to join case
• Record Gazette (Yucaipa, Calif.): Crider’s historical water series: Feather River Project