Wanted: water plan’s true cost

SACRAMENTO — A Central Valley Republican wants to mandate that officials determine the total cost before constructing a canal or tunnel to move water around the Sacramento-san Joaquin River Delta.

The bill, AB2421, by Bill Berryhill, R-ceres (Stanislaus County), cleared an Assembly committee Tuesday with bipartisan support.

In addition to requiring a total cost determination, the bill would also require that officials explain who would pay for the project.

Berryhill called the bill a “simple, modest, goodgovernment measure offering an additional measure of transparency on what could be the largest public works project since the State Water Project.”

According to initial documents for the water proposal, known as the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, building two large tunnels under the delta to move water at up to 15,000 cubic feet per second would cost nearly $17 billion.

That includes construction and the cost to operate and maintain it for 50 years. Including interest on the bonds for the project, the total construction cost would near $40 billion. Officials also could choose a smaller project.

Berryhill wants an independent group to analyze the project.

“It’s outside the process, it’s fair, it’s balanced, it’s something we can all hang our hat on. It should give us a good determination,” Berryhill said.

State water officials have not taken a position on the measure, but note that an economic review will be part of the environmental impact document. Many opposed to the project don’t think that it will go far enough.

Supporters, however, said the bill would add burdensome requirements late in the process. Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration will declare a “proposed alternative” this summer that could be finalized by the end of the year. The project has many more regulatory hoops to jump through before construction could begin.