Fury ignites among California residents calling new reservoir plans a ‘cultural genocide’

California’s State Water Resources Control Board has approved a permit for the proposed Sites Reservoir, a major water storage project in the northern Sacramento Valley. The decision advances a plan backed by Governor Gavin Newsom as a way to store water for dry periods, but tribal representatives and other critics say it could damage ancestral lands and cultural sites.

The reservoir would divert water from the Sacramento River and hold up to 1.5 million acre-feet, enough to supply 4.5 million homes per year. If built, it would be California’s first new reservoir since New Melones Lake was completed in 1979. Its estimated cost has risen from $4.5 billion to $6.2 billion and is now expected to approach $7 billion; the project authority says its proposal underwent an extensive review and was revised in response to concerns.