CALIFORNIA - Plans for a new reservoir near Chico, California, are going forward, and officials are asking investors to shell out the money for the estimated $4.4 billion construction costs. The estimated water yield would be between 470,000 to 640,000-acre-feet per year, depending on rainfall and environmental regulations.

The new structure, known as Sites Reservoir, is being pushed by the Sites Joint Powers Authority, and already has documentation from several Sacramento Valley water districts that they will buy about 128,000-acre-feet of water annually. That leaves another several hundred thousand acre-feet up for grabs for other groups to purchase. The Authority has announced a July 29 deadline for groups to turn in a proposal to bid on the acreage.

This project will be a fairly large investment into the drought problem for the state, it seems. According to ChicoER, if the project is built it will have the maximum storage of 1.8 million-acre-feet in extremely wet years in California. Lake Oroville has a maximum storage of 3.5 million acre-feet of water, for comparison. 

Of the water held in Sites Reservoir, only about 500,000 acre-feet of water is expected to be available for use. As per the rules of the bond, half the water “yield” will go toward public benefits including the environment, recreation, and flood control, ChicoER reports. That leaves 250,000 acre-feet of water for investors, at an estimated price of $600 an acre-foot.

"The California Department of Water Resources has estimated that if Sites Reservoir were operating in 2015—a critically dry water year type in Northern California — Sites Reservoir would have been capable of storing 400,000 acre-feet," explained Fritz Durst, Vice Chairperson for the Authority, in a press release. "This is water that could have helped in a meaningful manner to minimize the effect of the drought on people and the environment.”

A public meeting will be held 2-4 pm on July 20 at the American Legion Hall at 250 Oak Street, Maxwell, CA. For more information on how the great ag state of California is planning to handle its water situation in the coming years, count on AndNowUKnow to keep bringing you the latest.