WaterThursday, November 12
State regulators approve the final water right permit for Sites Reservoir
The SACtoday team
If you follow California water, here's the big one. The State Water Resources Control Board approved the final water right permit for Sites Reservoir in Glenn and Colusa counties. The Bee says the board voted Wednesday, Nov. 4, clearing the way for the state's largest reservoir project in more than five decades.
Sites would hold 1.5 million acre-feet near Maxwell
- 1.5 million
- acre-feet of water the reservoir would hold
- $6.2 billion
- low end of the estimated cost, up to $6.8 billion
- 70 miles
- northwest of Sacramento
Sources: Appeal-Democrat, Sacramento Bee
The reservoir is designed to capture Sacramento River water during eligible high-flow periods and store it for dry conditions. Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said all regulatory approvals are now in place and California is "on the verge of breaking ground." Environmental groups pushed back: Harrison Beck of the Center for Biological Diversity warned that a March draft approval did not address threats to the Sacramento River ecosystem and imperiled fish.
- Size: 13 miles long, 4 miles wide, 260 feet deep
- Dams: two earthen dams, nine smaller ones
- Drought supply: up to 200,000 acre-feet in declared emergencies
- Visitors: an estimated 187,000 a year
Sites Reservoir moved from fast-tracking to a final permit
- 2023Newsom fast-tracks the project with legislation speeding CEQA legal challenges.
- 2024Yolo Superior Court rejects a coalition lawsuit over the environmental review.
- Nov. 4State water board approves the water rights permit.
- Summer '27Construction is listed to start.
Source: Sacramento Bee
Sources: Appeal-Democrat, Sacramento Bee