CALIFORNIA – California land is a treasured asset, and if you are in the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California then you are expanding your reach with the purchase of $175 million worth of real estate in one of the hearts of California’s water delivery network- Northern California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
According to the Sacramento Bee, Metropolitan shared Monday that it has inked a 103-page contract to purchase five agricultural Delta islands from Delta Wetlands Properties.
Metropolitan’s Board of Directors has already approved the purchase. According to the publication this will be a vital asset in the ongoing battle over California’s water.
As expected this purchase isn’t going over well with some Delta landowners and Northern California officials, with water as such a precious commodity.
For those unfamiliar with The Delta, this resource is an estuary through which the State Water Project and the federal government’s Central Valley Project pump billions of gallons of water annually to the farmlands of the San Joaquin Valley and urban residents in Southern California by way of the Sacramento Valley.
Those with Delta's interests in mind worry that the agency could use the new investment as a “water grab,” and lawyer for Delta landowners, George Hartmann, communicated that he is prepared to sue if Metropolitan doesn’t honor a slew of land-use restrictions approved by Zurich in 2013, the article goes on to say.
Hartmann said, “It may not be comfortable to have your opponent owning the land next door, but that’s what it is.”
Steve Arakawa, Director of Bay Delta initiatives for the agency shared that plans for the islands still have not been finalized. It is suggested though that at least one of the islands could be utilized for dirt stoage and construction equipment for California WaterFix which is Gov. Jerry Brown’s $15.5 billion plan to re-engineer the Delta’s plumbing system by building a pair of underground tunnels. Metropolitan is a leading proponent of the tunnels, which are designed to improve the flow of water to the southern part of the state. On the other hand, the Southern California agency is formulating a model to restore some of the wildlife habitat on the land.
As the dialogue around this land purchase continues, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for continued updates.
