A major milestone has been reached for the proposed Sites Reservoir project, a plan to build a large new water storage facility west of Colusa. The state has issued a draft decision to conditionally approve a key water right permit for the project. Under the proposal, water would be pumped from the Sacramento River to the reservoir, which would store up to 1.5 million acre-feet of water. Supporters say the added storage would help improve water supply during dry years for farms, communities and wildlife. … Environmental groups are opposing the project. “The draft water right decision clearly shows that the Board agrees with our position that the proposed reservoir will cause major water quality and environmental impacts that need to be addressed,” said Keiko Mertz, policy director of Friends of the River.

Other infrastructure news:

• Construction Dive: Feds flow $889M to Western states for water infrastructure
• Engineering News & Review: Interior deploys $889M for Western water systems as capacity losses mount
• Active NorCal (Redding, Calif.): Opinion: I almost always side with environmentalists. Sites Reservoir is the exception.