Costa has secured hundreds of millions of dollars to modernize water infrastructure, expand storage, and improve drought resilience across the San Joaquin Valley.
I will continue to support funding for water infrastructure, storage, and drought resilience projects in the San Joaquin Valley.
Occurrences
Evidence
“This month Representative Jim Costa (CA-21) has secured $6.5 million in federal funding for four community projects included in the fiscal year 2026 agriculture funding package.” One funded project was the Kaweah River Siphon Project, which would “replace the existing siphon” and “boost groundwater recharge, improve the reliability of water deliveries, and enhance flood protection.”
Costa announced $254 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for B.F. Sisk Dam and Sites Reservoir, saying the investments were “a game-changer for the San Joaquin Valley” and that expanding storage would address drought head-on. The release says the funding would develop approximately 130,000 acre-feet of additional storage at B.F. Sisk and up to 1.5 million acre-feet at Sites Reservoir.
Costa and Gray “introduced their End California Water Crisis Package,” a suite of bills to authorize additional California water storage projects, ease permitting restrictions, and create timelines for environmental review. Costa said the bills would “deliver more reliable water for families, farms, and communities” and would improve water infrastructure in the San Joaquin Valley.
Costa said, “We have continually invested in expanding and improving upon California’s water storage and conveyance infrastructure. Operations of such infrastructure must reflect these favorable conditions.” He also said he would “continue to work with State and Federal officials” on CVP and SWP operations.
The homepage still links to a dedicated Water issue page, a "Funding for Valley Water Projects" resource, and FY 2027 community project funding / appropriations request pages.
"This month Representative Jim Costa (CA-21) has secured $6.5 million in federal funding for four community projects included in the fiscal year 2026 agriculture funding package."
Assessments
Costa’s promise was to continue supporting funding for San Joaquin Valley water infrastructure, storage, and drought resilience projects. The strongest evidence shows that during his current House service he materially helped secure concrete federal funding, including $254 million for B.F. Sisk Dam and Sites Reservoir in January 2025 and $6.5 million in the FY2026 agriculture package for Central Valley community projects including the Kaweah River Siphon Project. Those are direct funding outcomes in the promised policy area, so this is best scored as delivered in the same term.
The promise was to continue supporting funding for water infrastructure, storage, and drought resilience projects in the San Joaquin Valley. The evidence shows Costa did more than merely express support: he announced and took credit for concrete federal funding tied to major storage and resilience projects, including $254 million for B.F. Sisk Dam and Sites Reservoir in January 2025, and later secured $6.5 million in FY2026 community project funding including the Kaweah River Siphon Project. Additional evidence of introducing a water infrastructure package reinforces ongoing support, but the key point is that actual funding was obtained during the same term. Because the claim is about continuing to support funding rather than single-handedly completing every project, these appropriations and funding wins satisfy the promise.