SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As the mayor of the town of Hood, Mario Moreno loves his community. That's why he volunteers to cut the grass at the community park. 

What You Need To Know

  • Delta Water Tunnel project left out of streamlined major infrastructure projects in agreement on state's budget for the new fiscal year

  • Project is estimated to take eight years

  • Original cost estimate from 2020 was $16 billion

  • Town of Hood believes the water intakes for the tunnel proposed near them would destroy their way-of-life

Moreno said part of what makes the delta community so beautiful is living peacefully next to the river, but he said that could all change if the Delta Water Tunnel project gets built as planned, right next to the town.

“God forbid,” Moreno said. “If this tunnel proposal went through, the truck traffic coming through here, the amount of airborne dust and particles, and who knows what gets dug up.”

The proposal aims to funnel water from the Sacramento River to aid agriculture and cities to the south of the state’s capital.

Environmental groups have raised concerns about the proposal’s impact on the heritage listed region.

Iterations of the major infrastructure project have been discussed for years, but never built.

The Delta Tunnel was a sticking point for legislators in their negotiations with the governor on this year’s budget, as he tried to add it to the list of projects he wants to streamline and get built quicker, while federal money is possibly on the table to fund the estimated $16 billion dollar price tag.

Moreno said rushing the tunnel is something that should never be considered on such an impactful project.

“Take a look at the big picture and not the short term,” he said. “We just need to throw a lot of money at this and get it done. At the expense of our community and who knows, our whole delta region, which is a national heritage area.”

Thankfully for Moreno and the people of Hood, an agreement coinciding with the budget has been made to leave the delta tunnel project out of measures to reduce delays on major transportation and water projects.

The author of “Winning the Water Wars in California,” Steven Greenhut, said something needs to happen to help with the state’s water woes.

“I’m not saying we eliminate environmental oversight,” Greenhut said. “We have so much and it’s so open to lawsuits and the bureaucracies in the state don’t function well. We just can’t build anything anymore. We’ve had water storage projects like Sites Reservoir that have been on the books for decades.”

Even though the project is off the streamlined list, Moreno knows there still is a very real possibility it could still be built, and said he understands the state has water issues that need to be fixed.

“There’s no easy fix. I’m not saying there is,” he said. “At the same time, I know they’re looking at [alternative] things, but it keeps coming back to our little town, and that’s where I get upset, bad.”

It’s a fight, he said. He’ll continue for his community and the delta region he loves.