Few developments in local history have changed the Valley more than Friant Dam. From providing flood control and irrigation water to the east side of the Valley, to drying up huge portions of the river, and destroying the salmon population, the scale of the dam’s impact is undeniable. Today on KVPR’s Central Valley Roots, we explore the dam’s history. California leaders originally envisioned the Central Valley Project as a state funded effort as early as 1919. But amid the Great Depression, the state couldn’t sell the bonds necessary to fund construction. Instead the state turned to Washington. In 1935 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt approved the construction of Friant Dam.