The Delta Conveyance Project: Who Benefits?
It’s Not Ratepayers, Taxpayers, or the Delta
It’s an axiomatic question that applies to any government policy or project: who benefits?
When it comes to the $20-40 billion Delta Conveyance Project (DCP), Governor Newsom would like us to believe that everyone benefits. However, his claim evaporates under basic scrutiny.
We know that Southern California doesn’t need DCP water because water use has remained static while the population has grown. We know that modern infill housing is very water efficient, and we know that regional projects are under development to reuse existing deliveries from the Delta and the Colorado River, which are impacted by climate change. We also know that many hardworking Californians are already struggling to pay for rapidly rising water costs and have made water conservation part of their daily lives.
So, who then actually benefits? The answer is simple: corporate agriculture and suburban housing developers. Large agribusiness operations in the San Joaquin Valley, which have made millions growing permanent crops such as almonds and pistachios, are facing a future with less water due to reduced deliveries from the Delta and restrictions on groundwater pumping. The Delta Conveyance Project would be a huge win for them, since it would provide additional water in dry years and because the cost would be subsidized by Southern California households.
Additionally, the 20 wealthy families that control agriculture in the Imperial Valley would benefit because they would face less pressure to reduce their share of Colorado River water so it can be delivered to Southern California communities. Similarly, suburban housing developers, facing increasing resistance due to the hazards of climate-change-driven fire and extreme heat, would benefit by claiming adequate water supply for mitigating those risks. The Delta Conveyance Project would allow them to continue building high water-use single-family housing across inland Southern California.
It’s also germane to ask who doesn’t benefit – who, in fact, is penalized. And that answer isn’t hard to find either. Residents and the environment in the Delta region would be directly harmed. Residents in Southern California would also be penalized in the form of higher water rates. They don’t need and would not receive additional water, yet they would be saddled with bond repayment costs totaling tens of billions of dollars.
“All the talk of infrastructure modernization and reliability is a smokescreen,” said California Water Impact Network senior policy advisor and board member Max Gomberg. “This project is designed to benefit wealthy and powerful industries and to insulate them from doing their part to adapt to climate change.”
Further, added Gomberg, “These beneficiaries and the Governor are increasingly concerned about the growing opposition to this project. Now the Governor is trying to end-run the DCP through the legislature and circumvent evidence that it betrays the public interest. It is shameful and indicative of the Governor’s true colors.”
CONTACT
Max Gomberg
(415) 310-7013
maxgombergca@gmail.com