State: California Can Afford Twin Tunnel Project

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California officials say they've found a way to pay for building a pair of tunnels that will send water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

The State Treasurer's Office plans to release a study on Friday showing that cities and farmers who need the water most can afford to pay their share. The contested Bay Delta Conservation Plan has a $25 billion price tag.

Championed by Gov. Jerry Brown, the plan is designed to make it easier to pump water from the Sacramento River to Central Valley farms and Southern California cities.

Critics disagree. Environmentalists, delta farmers and the fishing industry, say the tunnels would further harm the delta and water quality.

They say the project is doomed because it won't win approval from a long list of agencies.