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FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2016, file photo, water flows through an irrigation canal to crops near Lemoore, Calif. The federal regulators evaluating Gov. Jerry Brown's decades-old ambitions to re-engineer the water supplies from California's largest river are promising a status update Monday, June 26, 2017, as Brown's $16 billion proposal to shunt part of the Sacramento through two mammoth tunnels awaits a crucial yes or no from national agencies. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
Photo: Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press 2016

The Brown administration has pulled the plug on the 5-year-old plan to build twin 35-mile tunnels to move water from the north end of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to points farther south — sort of.

Bowing to reality that the beneficiary water agencies were not going to pay $17 billion for what the state calls WaterFix, the state announced Wednesday it plans to build a single tunnel now and a second tunnel later. One now and one later is still two tunnels that reduce needed water flows to the San Francisco Bay, an environmentally bad idea.

Construction cost for the first tunnel pencils out at $10.7 billion and would carry two-thirds of the water. Environmental groups worry the state will attempt to argue that it can move forward without full environmental review, even though during review of the twin-pipe plan ultimately certified, the state would not consider a single-tunnel alternative.

The announcement also comes as the State Water Resources Control Board is working to revise water quality standards for the San Joaquin River and, eventually, the San Francisco Bay-Delta to strengthen environmental protections. New standards may require water agencies to draw less water. The state should set new standards first, and tackle tunnel specifications second.

The state is also resisting attempts by the Trump Interior Department to roll back water quality and environmental protections. Water agencies might find it easier to work with the feds to gut environmental protections than pay for new delta plumbing. Forget the tunnels; fight for water quality.

