A massive public delta water project stretching from Sacramento to southern California has been proposed by federal officials and governor Jerry Brown, according to local CBS affiliate KCBS.
Despite the hopes of conserving water for farmers who have been suffering from drought for years, residents are concerned about the fragile ecosystem and the costs surrounding the project. The Interior Department estimated the project would cost $23 million, with a 37-mile-long series of tunnels running underneath the delta landscape. This project hopes to ensure that an irrigation leak would be a thing of the past for California farmers concerned about water conservation. The proposed project would stretch more than 3 million acres, giving farmers the water they desperately need to grow crops in the country's most populous state.
Critics worried about the possibility of this project raising their water bill remain skeptical. Although the results of the plan remain to be seen, agency officials from three major water districts agree that although the project is a big step for farmers, water bills are expected to rise anywhere from 10 to 20 percent from this project, according to the source.
