The proposal, which still needs to be endorsed by federal and state wildlife agencies, calls for two enormous tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta that would deliver water to Central Valley farmers, Los Angeles and other cities.
The study's author, Dave Sunding, a UC Berkeley agricultural and resource economist, predicts that construction of what is called the Bay-Delta Conservation Project would create an average of about 15,500 jobs a year over a decade of construction and habitat restoration.
Once built, the project to make water supplies more reliable would spur an additional estimated 19,600 jobs a year over 50 years, he said.
"In the short, medium and long range, the Bay Delta Conservation would provide economic benefits to California," said Nancy Vogel, spokeswoman for the Department of Water Resources. "The plan is essentially an insurance policy against species extinction and inadequate water supplies."
Although the construction jobs estimate seems reasonable, the larger figure is "ridiculous," said Jeffrey A. Michael, director of the Business Forecasting Center at the University of the Pacific in Stockton. "It's based on a fictional scenario."
