tunnelling-journal (1)
tunnelling-journal (1)
  • Home
  • Print
    • Subscribe
    • Tunnelling Journal
    • Breakthrough
    • ITA Activity Report
    • A&NZ Journal
    • WTC Preview
    • Media Kit
  • Digital
    • Newsletter
    • E-Shots
    • TJ Digital edition
    • Products Page
    • Media Kit
  • Conferences
    • BTS Conference and Exhibition
    • Cutting Edge 2023
  • Buyer’s Guide
  • Events Diary
  • Jobs
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Podcast

Home > WaterFix scope halved in DWR first phase proposal

WaterFix scope halved in DWR first phase proposal

Tris Thomas

Written by Tris Thomas on 10/02/2018 in News

Tagged: California,Waterfix

On February 07, California’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) Director Karla Nemeth issued a memo to local public water agencies participating in the development and construction of the California WaterFix project, announcing the state’s intention to stage the project in two phases, rather than one, due to ‘economic realities’.

As NATJ reported in the Oct/Nov 2017 edition (p4), California’s public water agencies were voting on whether to endorse the project last fall. While many chose to advance WaterFix, several key agencies did not, including San Joaquin Valley’s Westlands Water District, which was expected to shoulder about a quarter of the project cost.

While the overall project scope remains as originally planned, under the new approach DWR now proposes to first focus on two intakes, with a total capacity of 6,000 cubic-feet per second (cfs), one tunnel, one intermediate forebay, and one pumping station – consistent with support expressed by Silicon Valley’s largest water agency the Santa Clara Valley Water District (which also rejected endorsement of funding for the full project scope last fall).

A second stage would consist of a third intake with 3,000 cfs capacity, a second tunnel, and a second pumping station, which would bring the total project capacity to 9,000 cfs. If funding for all elements of the currently-proposed WaterFix plan is not available when construction begins, stage two would proceed once additional funding commitments are made from supporting water agencies.

The overall cost of WaterFix has not changed, at an estimated $16.3 billion (2017 dollars). However, the cost of proceeding with the first stage option is estimated at $10.7 billion.

“Being prepared and having the option of a staged implementation of WaterFix is prudent, fiscally responsible and meets the needs of the public water agencies funding the project. It would allow work to begin on WaterFix as soon as all necessary environmental review and permits are complete, which is anticipated near the end of 2018,” said the memo.

Participating public water agencies are expected to bring actions to their respective boards this spring to finalize the necessary agreements and stand up the finance and construction Joint Powers Authorities. In addition, DWR will evaluate the potential environmental impacts of the staged implementation option and expect to issue a draft supplemental Environmental Impact Report in June 2018, with a final in October 2018.

Comments:

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Digital Edition

More Like This

13/07/2023

Jinghua breaks through on Beijing Expressway

Jinghua breaks through on Beijing Expressway

June 28th saw the Beijing East Sixth Ring Road Reconstruction Project slurry TBM “Jinghua” successfully breakthrough on the project’s west…

22/08/2023

Final Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport TBM named and launched

Final Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport TBM named and launched

The fourth and final Herrenknecht TBM to be used to bore the $1.8bn Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project…

01/11/2023

Delhi Metro EPBM FAT celebrated

Delhi Metro EPBM FAT celebrated

Representatives of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited, project contractor J.Kumar Infraprojects Ltd, and TBM supplier TERRATEC have celebrated the…

  • Contact Us
  • Media Kit
  • Magazine Archive

Newsletter

The latest from the Tunneling Journal direct to your inbox.

Social



Enquiries

TGS Media Ltd
The Old Library
Webster House
Dudley Road
Tunbridge Wells
TN1 1LE
United Kingdom

© Tunnelling Journal. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy / Terms & Conditions. Admin

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkRead more