After years of study, the state and federal governments are cautiously moving forward with a proposal to build a big underground pipeline to quench the water needs of some 25 million people. Roger Patterson, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, said, “This is a key piece of our water infrastructure and frankly, part of making the economy in Southern California work for the future.”
But people who live in the Delta, like sixth-generation farmer Joy Baker, say a tunnel would bring “total decimation. We will lose our land. We will lose our ability to farm our land. We will lose our homes. We will lose our livelihood. We will lose the Delta, bottom line.”
The proposal is just a draft so far. A more formal recommendation could come this summer.
