Costa’s work to secure funding made the Intertie project possible

The Intertie will bring more water to the Valley, increase water reliability

Fresno, CA – Congressman Jim Costa’s fight for the Valley’s economy took another step forward today at a groundbreaking for a major Valley water project that he fought to fund. The Intertie pipeline and pumping station will link the Delta Mendota Canal to the California Aqueduct. Once completed, the project will increase the flow of water to Valley communities and improve the reliability of water supplies. The Intertie will be fully operational in 2012.

Costa’s work to secure earmarks and Recovery Act funding made the Intertie project possible. In the FY 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, Costa passed an amendment to provide $10 million dollars for Valley water projects. $4.1 million of these funds were allocated to the Intertie. In July, Costa helped secure and announce $14.6 million in Recovery Act funding to begin construction of the project.

Costa highlighted the importance of the Intertie to the Valley economy and his work to bring the project to fruition by securing federal funding through earmarks and the Recovery Act.

“I fought for this project because more water equals more Valley jobs,” said Costa. “The Intertie will deliver more water to our region and help strengthen our economy. This project was stalled for years, but we used all of the tools at our disposal to make it a reality. This includes the earmarks and stimulus funding we secured to bring the Intertie online.”

While Costa called the groundbreaking a victory for the Valley, he also stated that the Valley’s fight for water was far from over.

 “The Intertie is a win for our Valley’s economy, but it is only one more step towards securing our fair share of water,” said Costa. “This year we increased our water allocations and pressed the Administration to begin revising the flawed regulations limiting our water. We must continue to hold the federal government’s feet to the fire so we can further increase the amount of water flowing to our region.”

Also participating in today’s groundbreaking in Tracy, CA are Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Rep. Dennis Cardoza, and other lawmakers and water officials.