Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a $449 million loan to Sites Reservoir Project Authority to build the interconnection facilities to move water in and out of Sites Reservoir.

LaMalfa said: “Sites Reservoir is a project that I’ve been fighting to see completed since I’ve been in Congress. After many years of working with the USDA and my California colleague, Congressman John Garamendi, this newly acquired funding will allow the Sites project to finally take the next steps. I’ve said many times before – surface storage projects like this one are absolutely critical to securing the future of our state’s water supply. That’s why I made sure 2016’s Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act included funding for the project before it passed the House and was later signed into law. We know all too well the potential economic impacts of a drought, and Sites Reservoir will enable more water storage during wet years in preparation for dry years.”

The Sites Reservoir project is a proposed 1.8 million acre-foot off-stream reservoir located in Glenn and Colusa Counties which will use existing infrastructure to divert high winter flows from the Sacramento River. As an off-stream reservoir, Sites does not dam a major stream or river and instead creates new environmental benefits, while relieving pressure on Lake Shasta, Folsom Lake, and other Northern California reservoirs. The project will dramatically increase the flexibility of California’s water supply infrastructure, which was built for 20 million people but now serves a population of nearly 40 million.

Supported by 28 water agencies serving over 20 million Californians and irrigating millions of acres of agriculture, the Sites Reservoir project has been endorsed by the Northern California Water Association, the California Alliance for Jobs, the California Farm Bureau, the California Rice Commission, the California State Building Trades Council, Ducks Unlimited, Colusa County, Glenn County, the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (including the Counties of El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba, as well as 22 cities), the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Redding Record-Searchlight, the Sacramento Bee, and various other organizations.

From February, 2018: LaMalfa Emphasizes Importance of Sites Reservoir at Subcommittee Hearing

Congressman Doug LaMalfa is a lifelong farmer representing California’s First Congressional District, including Butte, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou and Tehama Counties.

Source: Office of U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa