Sites Reservoir  Sites Reservoir is a proposed $5.2-billion offstream reservoir project west of Colusa in the Sacramento Valley of northern California, to be built by the California Department of Water Resources. The project would pump per year of the winter flood flow from the Sacramento River upstream of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, through existing  canals to an artificial lake away. Annual yield will depend on precipitation and environmental restrictions. The California State Water Project (SWP) would operate the $5.2-billion project. Estimated economic benefits are around $260 million per year, with an operating cost of $10–20 million. Preliminary studies were conducted at a cost of $50 million during 1996–2014. In 2018, the state awarded the reservoir project $820 million from a bond (Proposition 1), half the funding originally sought. Project backers were displeased with the funding shortfall. Additional funding was tentatively pledged from water agencies ("agricultural districts") in the Sacramento Valley, Fresno and urban agencies including Los Angeles. Each agency will be entitled to store water in the lake, in proportion to its share of the construction funding. In view of the shortfall, the pledges are being reassessed. The reservoir would be reduced in size if funding were cut back, but backers believe the project would still be built. , construction was to begin in 2023 and be completed in 2030. The state will fund 16% or $820 million of the $5.2 billion project in exchange for rights to nine percent of the yield or per year, to protect habitat for endangered Delta smelt and for wildlife refuges. The Sites Reservoir was proposed in the 1980s. California had serious droughts in 2006–2010 and 2011–2017, raising concern about water insecurity. The project is intended to improve reliability of supply during drought conditions. The estimated cost of the reservoir is $5.2 billion. In 2018, the state awarded $820 million from a bond (Proposition 1) to the reservoir project. About 30 water agencies in California have tentatively committed funding. The high cost of storage has led irrigation districts in the Sacramento Valley to reduce their funding and share of ownership. Water agencies in southern California and the San Joaquin Valley have increased their share. Crops grown in the San Joaquin Valley, such as pistachios and almonds, have a higher value than typical crops in the Sacramento Valley. The San Joaquin Valley and urban agencies can afford to acquire higher-cost water.