Kern farmers tapped for $14 million to study delta tunnel

Kern County farmers on Wednesday agreed to chip in $14 million over the next two years to kick off another attempt to move water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta via tunnel.

The level of Kern’s participation in the proposed Delta Conveyance Facility was closely watched, particularly by the giant Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which will likely end up paying the lion’s share for $16 billion proposed tunnel.

At this stage, the Department of Water Resources is asking State Water Contractors to fund $340 million over the next four years to complete planning, design and environmental assessments.