The Sites Project Authority today submitted an application to the California Water Commission to fund the public benefits of Sites Reservoir. Sites Reservoir is a unique and very modern water storage project–offering significant public benefits by providing up to 50% of water to environmental flows, creating a net benefit in water quality improvements; reduced salinity levels in the Delta; improved Pacific Flyway habitat for migratory birds and other native species; and more reliable cold water for the benefit of salmon in the Sacramento Valley river systems. These public benefits are described in more detail in the Sites Project Executive Summary.
The past several years have been a good reminder that California’s hydrology is both variable and unpredictable. This variability is one reason that the proposed Sites Reservoir is so important and valuable to California. The time is now to save water for California’s future.
