Overview
- The Delta Stewardship Council voted 6–1 to let planning continue while ordering the Department of Water Resources to resolve two specific challenges.
- One required fix involves a south Sacramento County site where the state wants a construction hub that collides with a recycled‑water bird habitat project and a family cattle ranch.
- Courts have thrown out the department’s bond plan to fund the tunnel, and the California Supreme Court in April declined to review the case, leaving no approved financing path.
- No water agency has committed construction dollars, and the Metropolitan Water District is not expected to take a major funding vote until 2027.
- Regulators are holding hearings on permits to divert Sacramento River water, and DWR says work could start in 2029 and take about 13 years if it wins approvals and secures funding.