DWR released new cost-benefit estimates and FAQ for the construction of the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) that reveal the cost has increased by $4 billion since the last estimate was announced four years ago.  Despite the rising price tag, DWR claims the benefits of the project still outweigh the $20.1 billion cost estimate.  Opponents of the project maintain that the DCP is an expensive boondoggle that will imperil the ecosystem and Delta as place.  Restore the Delta specifically claims the cost analysis failed to adequately recognize the effects on local communities, tribes, the Delta environment, and the state’s fishing industry.  According to Dr. Jeff Michael, professor of public policy at McGeorge School of Law, disputes DWR’s assertion that the DCP is less expensive than desalinization project water.  Congressman Josh Harder slammed the project for its intent to benefit Beverly Hills while harming the Delta in terms of lost farmland, unhealthy air quality, reduced water quality, and more detrimental effects.  County Supervisors in the Delta Counties Coalition criticized the analysis for being based on unreasonable assumptions and expressed frustration with the state’s refusal to study alternatives to a tunnel.