The long-discussed Sites Reservoir project is moving forward. The Department of Agriculture has announced a $449 Million loan to the Sites Reservoir Project Authority to build the interconnection facilities to move water in and out of Sites Reservoir. The Sites Project is on the west side of the Sacramento Valley, some 10 miles west of Maxwell in Colusa County. The area has long been considered for off-stream water storage since the 1980’s in a proposal that has had widespread support. The project is a proposed 1.8 Million acre-foot off-stream reservoir, which will use existing infrastructure to divert high winter flows from the Sacramento River. As an off-stream reservoir, Sites does not dam a major river.It’s supposed to relieve pressure on Lake Shasta, Folsom Lake, and other Northern California reservoirs. When completed, it would have about twice the capacity of Folsom. The grant will fund the Maxwell Water Inter-tie, a pipeline connecting the Glenn-Colusa Canal to the Tehama-Colusa Canal.