Should vote against governor’s Delta twin tunnels project

The Santa Clara Valley Water District Board will vote today on whether to commit to raising ratepayer taxes by at least $1 billion to pay for its share of the Big Dud — Gov. Jerry Brown’s $17 billion plan to build two massive, 35-mile, 40-foot-high tunnel

It would be irresponsible to pin that level of commitment on ratepayers when no one — not the governor and certainly not the water district’s board of directors — knows what the final cost will be.

Nor is there a clear governing structure in place to prevent Southern California from gulping excessive amounts of water from the Sacramento River though the massive capacity of the tunnels, ruining the Delta.

The “WaterFix” plan is like saying you’re going to build a 10-lane freeway but only ever use two lanes. Who believes that?

By Monday three Santa Clara Valley board members — Tony Estremera, Barbara Keegan and Gary Kremen — had written a memo supporting a cheaper, single tunnel instead of two. That would provide reliable transport of Delta water but also could free up money for conservation, storage and recycling projects that will truly increase water supply, and it has the support of many environmentalists. It’s well worth further study by the state.

Costs to Santa Clara County for limited return is the fundamental problem with the tunnels.

Last month the Westlands Water District, America’s largest irrigation district, voted 7-1 to pull out of the project, saying the benefits didn’t justify its expected $3 billion cost. That cost now would have to be paid by other agencies.

After Westlands’ vote, Santa Clara Valley Water District Chairman John Varela told The Mercury News’ Paul Rogers, “I can’t imagine how we can go forward when one of the most significant water users in the state is sending a message that this project doesn’t pencil out for them. If it doesn’t pencil out for them, how does it pencil out for us?”

The Metropolitan Water District serving Los Angeles and San Diego has voted to support the project. Three Bay Area water agencies, including the Contra Costa Water District, East Bay Municipal Utility District and San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, are not participating. The Alameda County Water District voted full support, but Kern County voted to go in partially, leaving another potential $1 billion hole.

Here’s the other, perhaps biggest cost problem: Digging projects are notorious for huge cost overruns. The cost of America’s largest, Boston’s Big Dig, ballooned from $2.6 billion to nearly $15 billion before it was completed eight years behind schedule. The European channel project between England and France, a single, 31-mile effort, came in at nearly double its original budget.

A guiding principle of the Estremera-Keegan-Kremen memo is that: “We will not allow Silicon Valley values and priorities to be placed at a disadvantage relative to Central Valley agriculture or Southern California.”

The governor’s twin-tunnel project does not meet that standard and does not deserve the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s support.