Tunnel under delta could be alternative to canal

By Michael Gardner
U-T Sacramento Bureau
2:00 a.m. July 31, 2009

SACRAMENTO – A possible answer to Southern California's water-delivery woes has emerged right underfoot, literally.
The state Department of Water Resources is exploring the price and engineering challenges associated with digging a roughly 35-mile tunnel under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to bring more supplies to Southern California.

“We don't have the costs worked out,” said Lester Snow, California's water chief. “We have to look at the trade-off between the extra costs of tunneling and how it compares to a canal.”

Although still in its early stages, the tunnel proposal intrigues water managers frustrated by the inability to secure sufficient supplies – especially during the state's prolonged drought – and worried that they may never overcome fierce resistance to building a new above-ground canal.

In 1982, voters rejected a measure to construct the 43-mile Peripheral Canal designed to move water through the delta and toward thirsty cities and farms.

Yesterday, key lawmakers were accused of preparing legislation to authorize a canal as part of the broader water bond. That prompted Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, a leader in the water negotiations, to issue a sharp denial.

His measure, Huffman said, “in either its current form or the soon-to-be-released full form, does not authorize, argue for or call for construction of the Peripheral Canal.”

Pipeline critics also are wary of a proposed delta oversight commission. They question the rush to approve that panel or related projects, given that lawmakers plan to adjourn for the year on Sept. 11.

“Important legislation is going to be thrown into the hopper in the last month without vetting,” said Jim Metropulos of Sierra Club California.

Large agencies that buy water from the state, including the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, have agreed to bankroll studies on a new canal and construction of it. Schwarzenegger also has endorsed the undertaking.