A drone view of the Bethany Reservoir, impounded by five dams in Alameda County, serves as a forebay for the South Bay Pumping Plant and afterbay for Banks Pumping Plant. Credit: DWR
Real price tag for taxpayers to complete the Delta Tunnel could be as high as $100 Billion
February 16, 2026 - STOCKTON – Last week, Congressman Josh Harder released the following:
Today, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers considers a decision in the yearslong water saga, Rep. Josh Harder (CA-09) called on the Army Corps to deny the federal permits required for the Delta Tunnel to be completed. Joined by members of Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Congressional Delegation, Harder led a letter urging the Army Corps’ final Record of Decision to protect Delta waterways, families, and our regional economy by denying these permits.
If approved, the Delta Tunnel would be a disaster for the Delta:
- First proposed more than 60 years ago, the Delta Tunnel is a monstrous zombie project with ballooning costs, growing to at least $20 billion in 2024 and potentially as high as $100 billion last year according to the latest analysis.
- That doesn’t even factor in the devastating damages that Delta communities would face – Sacramento’s own findings revealed $167 million in damages to Delta agriculture, air quality, and infrastructure.
- Even preliminary work on the Delta Tunnel would be extreme – massive trenches, boring holes up to 250 feet deep, and major installation projects would tear up dozens of sites across the Delta.
“This isn’t just some water heist to ship our Delta water down south to Beverly Hills lawns - this is an existential threat to our waterways, regional economy, and our very way of life,” said Rep. Harder. “And for all that devastation, it wouldn’t create a single new drop of water for anyone. That’s why we’ve been fighting tooth and nail to permanently stop the Delta Tunnel, and today I’m calling on the Army Corps to deny the permits needed for this boondoggle to ever be completed.”
Harder has been leading the charge in Washington to stop the Delta Tunnel devastation:
- Harder has launched legislation to prohibit federal permits necessary for the project to be implemented.
- Last summer, Harder demanded a full audit of the project to ensure transparency for Delta communities that have been cut out of closed-door Sacramento decision-making.
- Harder has rallied Delta residents, local leaders, and agriculture communities in multiple town halls and a major demonstration at the State Capitol to press Sacramento to give in.
“The proposed Delta Conveyance Project would have a direct, negative impact on environmental justice communities, Delta farms, commercial and recreational fishing, and Delta ecosystems,” said Morgen Snyder, Director of Policy and Programs, Restore the Delta. “The US Army Corps of Engineers relies heavily on DWR's incomplete EIR, which is currently subject to litigation, to demonstrate minimal impact to the project area, ignoring the cumulative impacts on an already impacted economy and sensitive ecosystem. If the US Army Corps of Engineers moves forward with the record of decision and associated permitting, Delta communities and ecosystems are facing a decade or more of construction, reduced flows resulting in declining water quality, further degradation of a declining ecosystem, and increased negative impacts to the Delta's declining river economy.”
Read the full letter here.
Source: Congressman Josh Harder
