Environmental group raises alarm over draft approval of California's Sites Reservoir

Chaewon Chung, The Sacramento Bee on Mar 23, 2026

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The State Water Resources Control Board on Friday unveiled a draft approval that would advance Sites Reservoir, marking another step forward for what would be the largest reservoir project for California since the 1970s.

The draft decision came two months after the Bureau of Reclamation gave the project a green light on environmental review, moving a plan forward that would store up to 1.5 million acre-feet of water west of Colusa County in the Sacramento Valley.

Sites Project Authority, or a joint regional agency behind the project, welcomed the move following the federal approval and reiterated the project would strengthen California’s water supply and protect the environment at the time. With the draft approval, members of the public can submit written comments through May 22.

“This draft decision recognizes some of the harms the reservoir would bring but it doesn’t address all of the serious threats to the Sacramento River ecosystem and the imperiled fish populations the project would cause,” said Harrison Beck, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity on Monday.

“Not only is this project incredibly expensive and environmentally damaging, but it also wouldn’t provide the water supply benefits that proponents claim.”

Sites Reservoir is an outcome of years of advocacy by Sacramento Valley farmers and water agencies to establish another reservoir to meet the state’s growing water demand. The project, proposed to be operational by the end of 2033, would divert and store water from the Sacramento River between Nov. 1 to June 14 and release them during drier seasons for largely agricultural and municipal uses. Under the proposed plan, Golden Gate Dam and Sites Dam would be built as part of the new infrastructure.

Friday’s draft decision includes new caveats suggested by the State Water Board limiting water diversions from the Delta to 986,000 acre-feet and requiring the project to align with Bay-Delta planning rules to protect fisheries. And while the Authority said the project’s estimated cost as of 2025 was between $6.2 billion and $6.8 billion, the draft decision notes economic concerns based on its previous estimated project cost of $3.9 billion from 2021.

Environmental groups have long opposed the Authority’s premise, arguing that the claimed environmental benefits promoted by the project advocates “rely on promises of responsible management by the people who give away too much water in the first place,” arguing that the construction would further devastate already struggling rivers and drive fish closer to extinction.

“The State Water Board plans to circulate a revised draft decision and, if necessary, a revised draft permit on approximately July 15 for another 30-day written comment period,” said Ailene Voisin, a spokesperson for the California State Water Resources Control Board on Monday.

“Based on these timelines, the board intends to consider adoption at the Sept. 1 board meeting,” she added, while emphasizing that the dates may change.

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