This week, Californians for Water Security released results of a recent statewide poll showing that voters across all regions, political parties and major demographics are highly supportive of the Governor’s Delta Conveyance Project.
Seventy-six percent (76%) of voters say they support the Delta Conveyance Project when read a description, with 40% of voters strongly favoring the project. Only 13% of voters oppose the project.
Voters across party and region also strongly support the project, with 81% of Democrats, 65% of Republicans and 76% of No Party Preference voters expressing support.
Water Supply Reliability
“Californians are saying loud and clear: it’s time to move forward with the Delta Conveyance Project to improve the reliability of our state’s water supply,” said Jennifer Pierre, general manager of the State Water Contractors.
“The local infrastructure that supplies water to two-thirds of our state is in serious need of modernization and is more vulnerable than ever due to the impacts of extreme weather and climate change,” said Charles Wilson, executive director and CEO of the Southern California Water Coalition. “As this poll shows, Californians know the Delta Conveyance Project is the right project at the right time to help ensure the State Water Project can continue to meet California’s water needs into the future.”
Project Summary Statement
“More than two-thirds of Californians rely on the state water project — a system of dirt levees, canals and pipes to transport water long distances from the Sierra Nevada Mountains through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to homes, farms and businesses in the Bay Area, Northern California, Central Valley, Southern California and San Diego. This system is more than 60 years old and engineers say it is outdated and must be modernized to continue operating reliably. The project would upgrade California’s primary water delivery infrastructure, including building a new tunnel underneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, as well as upgrading pumps and levees to carry and deliver the water more reliably throughout the state.”
Background
Currently, two-thirds of water for Californians starts in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and flows through the state’s main water distribution system through the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta to other parts of the state, including the Bay Area, Central Valley, the Central Coast and Southern California. But this system is aging, vulnerable to natural disasters, and must be updated to better protect against climate change.
The Delta Conveyance Project would:
• Protect water security for two-thirds of the state. Without action, water supplies through our main distribution infrastructure will continue to decrease.
• Improve the reliability and security of our water system by fixing aging infrastructure using the most innovative technologies and engineering practices.
• Protect water supplies from earthquakes, floods and natural disasters by delivering them through a modern water pipeline, rather than solely through today’s deteriorating levee system.
• Prepare for the impacts of climate change by improving our ability to move and store water to account for extreme swings in drought and flood and to protect against salinity caused by sea-level rise.
• Serve as a critical component of a comprehensive water portfolio.
The poll, conducted by FM3 Research, surveyed 1,099 likely California voters from February 9–16, with a margin of error of 3.1%.
For more information, visit www.watersecurityca.com.
