From News Line, a daily compilation of farm water news distributed to CFWC members and others upon request. To receive News Line, click here.

Gov. Brown’s Bay Delta Conservation Plan Costs $54.1 Billion: Simple Math – It’s Not Worth It

Coalition response…Restore the Delta’s “Simple Math” attempt at quantifying the costs of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan and their statement that “it’s not worth it” didn’t provide enough information for a logical conclusion. Missing from the equation was the volume of water that could be reliably delivered for the cost of the project.

Considering that water users would pay the full $43.9 billion cost of the tunnels (habitat restoration is considered a public benefit and therefore a public cost) and then applying the historical average of about 5 million acre-feet of water delivered per year over the 50-year span of the project, RTD’s simple math exercise pencils out to about $172 per acre-foot. In comparison to current prices farmers are encountering right now because of the water-short year, the $172/AF may not be too bad, especially if it brings reliability back to the system. Simple.