California lawmakers, water agencies, environmentalists back $300M levee plan

Chaewon Chung, The Sacramento Bee on Mar 17, 2026

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California legislators on Tuesday voiced their support for Senate Bill 872 — a bill aimed at reinforcing Delta levees and the State Water Project by directing $300 million annually to the state’s water infrastructure upgrades and repairs.

The news conference followed the introduction of the bill in January month by Sen. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, who on Tuesday emphasized the urgency of addressing California’s aging levees.

“Northern and Southern California folks, we’re used to fighting over water. But I’m really here to say we all benefit from this,” said Assemblymember John Harabedian, D-Pasadena, who co-authored the bill, while Sen. Bob Archuleta, D-Pico Rivera, compared the unique coalition to the Dodgers and Giants coming together for the love of baseball — except this time, the two regions are uniting for the sake of the state’s water system.

“No one talks about infrastructure until the levee breaks and the levees are failing. So we need to do this. It’s a good investment,” Harabedian continued.

Levees are manmade ridges located along rivers and channels to reduce the risk of flooding, though they cannot eliminate that risk 100%. The Federal Emergency Management Agency notes that improper maintenance can lead to levee failures, and that “the result can be more catastrophic than if the levee had never been constructed.”

With climate-driven extreme weather shifting sea-levels and causing more intense storms, researchers at the Public Policy Institute of California estimated in 2024 that one in five state residents lives in a flood-prone community, and that every county in California has experienced severe flooding.

Water contractors and environmental groups were among those who joined the supporting legislators on Tuesday, including Shivaji Deshmukh from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and Molly Colton with the Sierra Club California. While environmental groups and water contractors often clash over Delta water management, both parties tend to align when it comes to upgrading aging, existing water infrastructure.

“Over 4 million people live in and around the Delta, including 750 plant and wildlife species. Fifty-five fish species call it home. It is also home to one of the largest levee systems in the United States, 1,100 miles of levees protecting nearly 500,000 acres of farmland and communities in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta,” Colton said.

“But these delta levees are severely outdated and have been neglected for far too long, putting both communities and the environment at risk. Strengthening the levees in the Delta is the biggest safeguard against earthquakes and sea level rise.”

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