Success Story
Resolving a Decades-Old Water Dispute
From courtroom stalemate to regional cooperation, ENS advanced a strategy resulting in the delivery of a $700 million water project into safe, reliable supply for Sacramento and the East Bay.
Critical Infrastructure
$700M
Regional water project delivered
East Bay and Sacramento County water agencies
The Challenge
The Problem
For more than thirty years, Sacramento and East Bay communities fought over the same water from the American River, with the dispute stalled in the courts and the court of public opinion while the region's water supply grew less reliable and demand kept climbing.
Our Approach
What ENS Did
- ✓ Coordinated with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on the amendatory Central Valley Project contract enabling delivery at Freeport
- ✓ Advanced the joint federal environmental review (NEPA) needed to permit the intake, pipeline, and treatment facilities
- ✓ Engaged Congress and the California delegation to keep federal approvals and funding on track
- ✓ Built and sustained support among public agencies, environmental stakeholders, and local officials on both sides of the dispute
- ✓ Served as a consistent point of contact between the client agencies and federal decision-makers
The Outcome
The Result
The roughly $700 million Freeport Regional Water Project was completed in 2011 and now delivers safe, reliable surface water to more than 1.3 million people across Sacramento County and the East Bay, turning a decades-old dispute into a durable regional partnership.
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