Local and federal agencies have approved the first major water storage project in California in a dozen years. Raising the B.F. Sisk Dam by 10 feet will add 130,000 acre-feet of storage space in the offstream reservoir.
That is enough water to irrigate more than a million acres of farmland along the west side of the San Joaquin Valley as well as supply two million people with drinking water and support 135,000 acres of wetlands and habitat. The Interior Department and the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority approved the plans on Friday.
It’s easy to be “in the know” about what’s happening in Washington, D.C. Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse news! Simply click here.
Cannon Michael, a farmer who chairs the water authority’s board, said capturing more water is critical to communities, farms and wildlife amid California’s changing climate.
