Sites Reservoir

Tim Hammerich

News Reporter

Unfortunately this year is serving as yet another reminder of the limited amount of available surface water in our state. This has many calling for investments in infrastructure to hold more water. One of the more promising projects is the Sites Reservoir near Maxwell, California. Jeff Sutton is the general manager of the Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority and the vice chairman of the Sites Joint Powers Authority.

Sutton… “The Sites Reservoir is a proposed new surface storage project on the west side of the Sacramento Valley. It would hold 1.5 million acre feet, and it would integrate the California water management system into the central valley project and state water project systems and restore greatly the operational flexibility to this water management system, while also providing drought resilience.”

The project has been funded with prop 1 dollars and will be circulating the environmental impact report later this summer.

Sutton… “We really think it's a project that it's time has come. The drought we're currently experiencing, certainly highlights that fact. And, it's needed to reinvest in California water infrastructure. You know, the last serious investments in California water infrastructure were in the late seventies and we're experiencing these impacts because it's something that's been ignored.”

Sutton hopes construction can get started in 2024.