FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1, 2021
Contact: Kathryn Phillips--916-893-8494 (mobile)
New Public Opinion Survey: Public Opposes Delta Tunnel
Nearly a third of Californians haven’t heard of it; after learning more, a solid majority of Californians reject the tunnel.
SACRAMENTO—A new public opinion survey of voting Californians’ attitudes about the proposed Delta tunnel indicates that most Californians either oppose or haven’t heard of the tunnel. And when they learn more about the tunnel--both positive and negative--a solid majority of Californians oppose it.
The poll, commissioned by Sierra Club California and conducted by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research, surveyed 600 California voters and covered all regions of the state. It is a hybrid poll, meaning some respondents provided responses over the telephone, and others provided responses online. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
When first introduced to the San Francisco-Bay Delta tunnel during the survey through a basic description of the tunnel’s purpose, 38% of respondents supported the tunnel, but about a third (34%) were unsure and 27% opposed.
Then, over a series of questions that included proponents arguments for the tunnel and opponents arguments against the tunnel, opposition to the tunnel firmly increased. By the end of the survey, 55% of respondents opposed the tunnel.
“While a plurality of California voters initially supports Delta Tunnel construction, providing neutral information about the Bay-Delta and the Delta Tunnel boosts opposition significantly, with more than half of the California electorate (55%) opposing the Tunnel compared to just 30 percent in favor. Anti-Tunnel messaging cements voter opposition still further, while pro-Tunnel messaging fails to rally voter support,” the pollsters wrote in a memo summarizing the survey results. “These results suggest a majority of California will likely oppose the Delta Tunnel once they learn basic facts about the proposed project.”
When broken out by region, tunnel opposition hit 50% or more in every region except Los Angeles County, where there was still a significant shift from support to opposition. Support in Los Angeles County declined by 11 points and opposition climbed by 21 points. In the Bay Area and Sacramento County, opposition reached 66% and 67% respectively.
In every region except Los Angeles County, those classified as “strong oppose” outnumbered the “strong support” respondents. In Los Angeles County, the “strong oppose” and “strong support” matched at 19%.
“It’s pretty clear that after more than a decade of active tunnel advocacy by three different governors, the majority of Californians still aren’t buying the tunnel,” said Kathryn Phillips, director of Sierra Club California. “This poll shows that Californians continue to question cost and who will benefit. Californians rightly don’t think the tunnel makes sense for the environment or for water ratepayers.”
Tunnel opponents have conducted similar polling in the past, most recently about 6 years ago. “Our allies tell us that the results then were similar, but now are more hardened,” said Phillips. “It’s as though Californians are saying ‘Enough already!’ and are waiting for better proposals for solutions to California’s water troubles in a time of climate change.”
The San Francisco-Bay Delta is an 1,100-square-mile system that begins where the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers meet and flow through the delta into the San Francisco Bay complex. The delta system serves as home, breeding grounds or passageway to breeding for 750 plant and wildlife species, including declining populations of salmon.
The proposed tunnel would divert water from the Sacramento River, one of the main river systems feeding the delta ecosystem, before that fresh water goes into the delta, and would send the water south of the delta.
Sierra Club California has been among the opponents to the tunnel proposal given that it would significantly harm the region’s ecosystem. The Club has also argued that, given the expectations that climate change will significantly reduce annual water flows from the Sierra, a tunnel is the wrong place to invest capital. It would be better to focus on regional and local solutions that will better conserve, more efficiently use, or better manage and develop local and regional water resources.
Early in 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that his administration would pursue a proposal to build a single giant tunnel to divert water. Just before his predecessor, Governor Jerry Brown, left office, Brown abandoned a twin tunnel proposal and embraced the notion of a single, less expensive tunnel.
The current tunnel proposal is expected to cost a minimum of $15.9 billion and is anticipated to substantially increase in cost over the 20 years it will require to build the giant tunnel.
A recent report by a government agency, the Delta Stewardship Council, noted that climate change impacts are expected to substantially reduce the amount and reliability of flows into the delta from its feeder rivers. This further supports the expectation that a tunnel won’t have sufficient water to divert to make the expense worthwhile.
Sierra Club California is the legislative and regulatory advocacy arm of the 13 Sierra Club chapters in California, representing more than 500,000 members and supporters statewide.