A dozen San Francisco Bay Area water agencies preparing for the next drought are moving ahead with an $800 million expansion of one of the largest reservoirs in the region.
The Mercury News reports that the Contra Costa Water District has scheduled six public meetings to discuss new environmental studies it released Monday.
The district owns the Los Vaqueros Reservoir.
The plan is to raise the reservoir's earthen dam by 55 feet to make it 273 feet high. The construction would expand the size of Los Vaqueros from its current 160,000 acre-feet capacity to 275,000 acre-feet, which is enough water when full for the annual needs of 1.4 million people.
California has been drenched in water and snow this year, but suffered a historic 5-year drought.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
