For Immediate Release: April 7, 2022

Media Contact: Michelle.Sherwood@sen.ca.gov

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) released the following statement after the California Department of Water Resources released $3.3 million to the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority to repair segments of the Delta-Mendota Canal damaged by subsidence:

“This is the first of many steps to help California modernize and repair our water infrastructure,” said Senator Hurtado. “As California’s climate changes, we must find ways to adapt—and fixing our broken canals is one such way towards resiliency.  Another way is modernizing California’s water management, which is why I have decided to move forward with SB 1219, which will ensure we move our water planning into the 21^st century and prepare for our water future.”

The Delta-Mendota Canal delivers water to 1.2 million acres of farmland across the San Joaquin, San Benito and Santa Clara Valleys, delivering water to more than 2 million Californians. Four projects will receive funding under the California Budget Act of 2021, where $100 million was allocated to fix the canals. On March 24^th, DWR released $29.8 million to repair the Friant-Kern Canal. The Friant-Kern Canal delivers water to one million acres from Fresno to Bakersfield, and serves more than 250,000 Californians. The Friant-Kern Canal has lost more than 60 percent of its original conveyance capacity due to subsidence. Additional funding will be released to repair a second portion of the San Luis Canal and the California Aqueduct.

This legislative session, Senator Hurtado introduced Senate Bill 1219—the State Water Resiliency and Modernization Act. SB 1219 would have prioritized the preservation and sustainability of California’s water systems by building a Blue Ribbon Commission that provides a vision, statutes and recommendations on how best to ensure the sustainability of our water. This bill would have dissolved the state water board, helping to give Californians a voice in who raises their fees, and manages their water.

Amendments taken in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee on SB 1219 removed the Blue Ribbon Commission, replacing it with a committee, and removed language that would sunset the State Water Resources Control Board. However, the amendments also bolstered the responsibilities of the committee and expanded its scope.

Senate Bill 559—The State Water Resiliency Act of 2021—as introduced, would have allocated $785 million to repair vital water delivery systems that provide drinking water to communities throughout California and to sustain the state’s leading agricultural economy. The funds would have gone to fixing the Friant-Kern Canal, the Delta-Mendota Canal and major portions of the California Aqueduct, all of which have degraded and are losing water as a result of subsidence – the actual shrinking of land. Congressman Jim Costa and U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein have companion legislation in Congress.

Senator Hurtado secured $200 million in funding to help repair the canals last year. Governor Newsom included the proposal in his 2021 May Revise. In the budget ultimately adopted by the Legislature and signed by the Governor, $100 million was allocated to fixing the canals in 2021 and an additional $100 million was proposed to be included in this year’s budget. It has been.

Senate Bill 559 passed out of the Appropriations Committee on August 26, 2021 with amendments that would place fund administration under the Department of Water Resources in consultation with the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Under these amendments, the departments would have to follow various guidelines and conduct studies in order for funding to be released and allocated. These requirements will further complicate the process and the fund disbursement, slowing construction on the State’s water conveyance canals. Assembly Appropriations amendments also removed the intent language outlining where funding should be allocated, and deleted the specific funding allotments planned for in SB 559 as introduced.

About Senator Melissa Hurtado

Senator Melissa Hurtado represents a new generation of Latina leaders as the youngest woman ever elected to the California State Senate and a product of immigrant parents. Senator Hurtado represents the 14th Senate District and focuses on rural community issues that often go unheard — access to clean air and water, food insecurity and poverty, inequities in environmental policies, agriculture and access to health care. In July 2020, she was appointed to the national Biden Latino Leadership Committee alongside former Labor Secretary and current Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis – the only two California Latinas on the Committee.

For more information, visit Senator Hurtado’s Website here or find her on Twitter at @Senator_Hurtado

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