Skip to content
Subscriber Only
Green
Climate Adaptation

Drought-Stricken Western Districts Plan New Ways to Store Water

Current surface and groundwater storage infrastructure is not adequate for future weather conditions, water managers say.

Sites Reservoir Project is slated to sit near the Sacramento River an hour north of California’s capital. 

Sites Reservoir Project is slated to sit near the Sacramento River an hour north of California’s capital. 

Source: Sites Authority

Driving through the Sacramento valley an hour north of California’s capital, most travelers notice nothing but a few cows grazing on grass scorched brown by the heat. But Jerry Brown, the executive director of the Sites Reservoir Project, sees the future of California’s water system.

“I believe scientists are correct and we are going to see wetter wet periods and drier dry spells. California’s current infrastructure is not built for those future conditions,” he said, “But Sites Reservoir is, and that’s why we need it.”