Environmental Lawsuits: Sure as Night Follows Day

Location of the Sites Reservoir, proposed in the 1980's

Earlier this year we repeated our lament that, despite the voters having approved $7.5 billion for new water storage in 2014, no reservoirs have been built.

The delays haven't all been due to government incompetence, however. Sure as night follows day environmental groups are suing to halt construction of the Sites Reservoir.

The $4.5 billion project, which seeks to boost water supplies for drought-plagued cities and farms, was recently put on the fast track by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The suit, though, alleges the reservoir’s environmental impact report was insufficient, failing to address harm to fish and greenhouse gas emissions — problems opponents say make the additional water hard to justify...

Sites Reservoir, planned in rural Colusa and Glenn counties, would be the state’s eighth biggest reservoir. Its water would be piped across the state, including to the Bay Area.

The facility is designed to capture water from the Sacramento River during wet years and store up to 1.5 million acre-feet for dry years, enough to meet the annual needs of more than 3 million households.

One of the lawyers for the environmental groups declared,“There are other alternatives that were really not considered that might achieve some of the same benefits.”

Since "other alternatives" included converting sewage into drinking water, he was wise not to elaborate.