The long-envisioned construction of Sites Offstream Storage Reservoir in northern California is getting closer to the finish line.

Over the last six years, the Sites Project Authority—the lead agency for the project —has worked with its participants, government partners, and statewide stakeholders to design an off-stream reservoir that would benefit all of California.

Last year – 2023 - marked several existing milestones for the project. Sites qualified for a $2.2 billion low-interest loan, and the Final Environmental Impact Report was certified. Gov. Gavin Newsom and the State Legislature certified Sites for streamlined judicial review. Sites was awarded $110 million in federal funding from, bringing the total federal funding committed to the project through the end of 2023 to $244 million.

Now, the project is moving into the final planning stages and heading toward construction. This is welcome progress, as California needs Sites Reservoir now more than ever.

I’ve engaged in the slow, sometimes halting progress of Sites Reservoir in a variety of roles over the past 25 years.

As the manager of a Sacramento Valley flood control agency, folks around me started talking about Sites and other ambitious infrastructure projects following three federally-declared flood disasters that occurred between 1994-1997.

Related:This would’ve been the year for Sites Reservoir

Sites was one of a handful of storage projects that made the cut as the CALFED Bay-Delta program investigated water supply enhancement projects. I served on the California Department of Water Resources Off-Stream Storage Advisory Committee in the late 1990’s during my time at the Northern California Water Association and Bureau of Reclamation, which oversaw that effort.

Even at that time, the concept of developing a Northern California off-stream storage reservoir to effectively serve as water availability insurance during dry years was an old idea. The vision for Sites was first brought forth in the 1950s!

My current employer -the Family Farm Alliance - has been on record for over a decade in support of this project, and we’ve sent witnesses back to Capitol Hill to testify in support of this project.

The approach used to advance Sites in recent years is an innovative and modern one that goes beyond water supply and flood protection by adding flexibility and generating a much-needed new water source for improved water quality, seasonal fish flows, climate change and drought relief. Sites would provide an additional tool for water managers to effectively balance competing demands and provide reliable water to support California’s environment and economy.

Related:Sites project could break ground in '24

The persistence of Sites’ diverse proponents paid off, seven decades after the project was envisioned.

In California and elsewhere in the West, it usually takes extreme drought or extreme flooding to drive policy makers towards meaningful solutions. Those extreme events are happening with increased frequency. Sites is a rain-fed flexible storage solution that will adapt to future climate conditions, which are predicted to bring more precipitation in the form of rain.

Sites Reservoir is closer than ever to becoming a reality. I am proud to support this project that will provide water for generations of Californians to come.

[Keppen is executive director of Family Farm Alliance.]