California court ruling could threaten key source of funding for disputed giant water tunnel project

By ADAM BEAM
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California judge has ruled that the state does not have permission to borrow billions of dollars for a water project. The decision by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Kenneth C. Mennemeier could threaten a key source of funding for a plan to build a tunnel to reroute the state’s water supply from the Central Valley to the densely populated southern portion of the state. The Department of Water Resources approved a resolution in 2020 to borrow money for a broadly defined water project. But the judge ruled the agency’s definition of the project was too broad. The agency said the ruling does not apply to the tunnel project. But a lawyer for counties who sued said the ruling is significant.