Depositphotos
California is pushing its most significant new reservoir in decades
I’ve covered plenty of water projects, but Sites Reservoir is being framed as a once-in-a-generation bet on storage. The plan would create a 13-mile-long reservoir in rural Colusa and Glenn counties, about 70 miles northwest of Sacramento.
It would pipe water in from the Sacramento River rather than sit on a major waterway, and it’s positioned as California’s largest new reservoir in nearly 50 years.
Depositphotos
The price tag is rising, and the timeline is tight
The total cost of Sites is now estimated at roughly $6.2 billion to $6.8 billion, and the project team wants to break ground this year or early next year.
The main construction contract alone is valued at around $3 billion and includes design assistance, construction of two large and several smaller dams, roads, and bridges. Officials are targeting completion by 2033, leaving little room for surprises.
Depositphotos
Choosing a contractor is becoming complicated
Just as the project inches toward construction, a labor dispute is landing at the worst possible time. Montana-based Barnard Construction is expected to be selected as the main contractor following a competitive process that included three finalists…