A smaller version of a new water export system for California's Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta would be less costly and more reliable than other plans on the table, a group of conservation organizations and Bay Area water agencies said.

The group proposes building a single intake and tunnel on the Sacramento River that could carry 3,000 cubic feet of water per second. Additionally, programs such as conservation, recycling and new water-storage development could be used to increase the amount of water in the delta.

The $14 billion to $16 billion proposal would also improve delta levees and restore 40,000 acres of delta habitat, the group said.

The group includes the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Bay Institute, Defenders of Wildlife, the Planning and Conservation League, the Contra Costa Council and Environmental Entrepreneurs.

It is a much smaller proposal than the one supported by Gov. Jerry Brown's (D) administration. His office, as well as federal officials, supports a plan that would build three large facilities to divert 9,000 cubic feet of water a second into two underground tunnels that would feed into existing pipes. The project's estimated cost would be $18 billion.

While none of the ideas proposed by the coalition are new, backers say a formal package would give officials a better idea of the plan's economic advantage.

"All we've done is to compare the incremental benefits of a larger facility with a larger investment in local resources like recycling efficiency," NRDC's Barry Nelson said (Bettina Boxall, Los Angeles Times, Jan. 16). -- JE