SACRAMENTO (AP) — Southern California’s largest water supplier has bought sprawling farmland that could be used to help build twin tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
The Sacramento Bee reports the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California said Monday it has completed its purchase of five islands at the hub of California’s water system east of San Francisco.
The newspaper reports Metropolitan announced the completion of the purchase in a two-paragraph memo to board members from the agency’s general counsel.
The deal was finalized three days after the state Supreme Court turned aside legal efforts by San Joaquin County officials and others to block the acquisition.
San Joaquin and Contra Costa counties oppose the tunnels and filed suit against Metropolitan. They contend that Metropolitan failed to study how the deal may harm the fragile delta before buying the land from a Swiss investment group.