LIVERMORE — One day after the largest water district in America pulled out of a $17 billion state project to build twin tunnels under the Delta, a water supplier for 220,000 Alameda County residents supported the plan and said it wants to join in.
In a 5-2 decision Wednesday night, Alameda County’s Zone 7 Water Agency endorsed the California WaterFix , which proposes to build tunnels under the Delta as a means of making state water supplies more reliable for buyers like Zone 7.
The agency also agreed to commit up to $250,000 more toward state planning of the project.
Zone 7 managers recommended backing the project as a way to increase the reliability of state supplies that Zone 7 relies on for 80 percent of its water on average. The agency supplies wholesale water to Pleasanton, Livermore and Dublin water agencies that sell it to local residents.
“We need more water,” said Jill Duerig, the agency’s general manager.
On Tuesday, the Westland Water District Board’s voted to pull out of the Delta project, likely making it more expensive for remaining partners like Zone 7.
Still, Duerig said Thursday that state officials have assured her the project can go ahead.
Joining the project would increase consumer water prices in the Tri-Valley about 20 percent over the next 10 to 15 years, according to a Zone 7 report.
“While the cost is significant,” the report concluded, “it’s half the cost of pursuing other water supply options based on multiple staff reports and evaluations.”
The two board members who voted against backing the tunnels project were Angela Ramirez Holmes and Jim McGrail.
California Resources Secretary John Laird said Thursday that in voting to support the project, the Zone 7 Board members ” demonstrated their commitment to securing a clean and sustainable water supply for their community.”
Laird said the project is “the best solution to a problem that affects 25 million Californians, 3 million acres of farmland and the state’s economy.”
