Commentary: A California water storage project environmentalists ignore
Fresno drivers headed to the Bay Area via Pacheco Pass on Highway 152 can’t help but take note of a sprawling inland sea that seemingly appears out of nowhere among the yellowed, oak-dotted foothills. This is San Luis Reservoir, essentially a 2 million acre-foot holding tank built to irrigate San Joaquin Valley farms and supply drinking water to Silicon Valley. … Six decades later, the 3½-mile long earth dam that towers above 152 and impounds the federally owned, state operated reservoir is getting fortified. Construction crews are 2½ years into a $1.1 billion seismic upgrade of B.F. Sisk Dam that won’t be completed until 2031.
—Written by: Marek Warszawski, columnist with The Fresno BeeRelated news release and opinions:
- U.S. Bureau of Reclamation: Reclamation continues B.F. Sisk Dam Raise and Reservoir Expansion Project public negotiation sessions
- Mercury News: Opinion: Delta tunnel project will protect California’s vital water supply
- California Globe: Ringside: How to achieve water abundance in California
