California’s water tunnel to cost $20 billion. State officials say the benefits are worth it

By ADAM BEAM
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration says it will cost more than $20 billion to build a giant tunnel to capture and store more water. Newsom inherited the project and changed it to be one big tunnel instead of two smaller ones. The new estimate released Thursday said Newsom’s project would cost $20.1 billion. The two-tunnel project was expected to cost $16 billion. But that estimate was done in 2020, before soaring inflation took hold. The bulk of the difference is attributed to inflation. Environmental groups oppose the tunnel. They say its construction would harm salmon and other endangered species of fish.