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Aquapedia background May 4, 2021 Lake Tahoe State Water Project Oroville Dam Lake Perris

Pauline Davis

Pauline DavisPauline Davis (1917-1995), who represented all or portions of 12 rural Northern California counties in the California Assembly, guided some of the state’s most significant water development proposals through the Legislature.

During her legislative career from 1952 to 1976, Davis concentrated on water issues important to her constituents by championing area-of-origin protections for water targeted for export as part of the fledgling State Water Project.

“Water is so basic of all the other natural resources that I felt that it would be a necessity for me to go into the field as deeply as I could,” she said in an interview conducted for the University of California, Berkeley’s Women in Politics Oral History Project.

Davis was instrumental in two key pieces of water legislation. The first, the Davis-Grunsky Act, in 1959, which authorized $130 million of the State Water Project bond sales for development of local water projects. In 1961, the Davis-Dolwig Act required consideration of fish and wildlife enhancement and recreational opportunities when planning State Water Project facilities. Importantly, the law required water and power contractors to pay for actions to help fish and wildlife affected by the project.

Davis was known as the “Lady of the Lakes” for her advocacy of recreational and water development projects in the state’s rural areas.

A Democrat, Davis was first elected to the Assembly following the May 23, 1952, death of her husband Lester Thomas Davis, who had served in the Assembly since 1947. (Lake Davis in Plumas County is named for him). Pauline Davis was familiar with the workings of the Legislature, having served as her husband’s secretary during his nearly three terms in the Assembly.

Between 1961 and 1966, she was the only woman serving in the Legislature. Her legislative career, at 24 years, was the longest of any woman in either the Assembly or Senate. Given term limits now in place for state lawmakers, it’s a record that won’t be broken.

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Aquapedia background May 4, 2021 Lake Tahoe State Water Project Oroville Dam Lake Perris
Aquapedia background February 11, 2014 Lakes

Lake Tahoe

World-renowned for its crystal clear, azure water, Lake Tahoe straddles the Nevada-California border, stretching 22 miles long and 12 miles wide and hemmed in by Sierra Nevada peaks.

At 1,645 feet deep, Tahoe is the second-deepest lake in the United States and the 10th deepest in the world. The iconic lake sits 6,225 feet above sea level.

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California Aqueduct
Aquapedia background February 11, 2014 Layperson's Guide to the State Water Project

State Water Project

The State Water Project is an aquatic lifeline for California because of its vital role in bringing water to cities and farms. Without it, California would never have developed into the economic powerhouse it is.

The State Water Project diverts water from the Feather River to the Central Valley, South Bay Area and Southern California. Its key feature is the 444-mile long California Aqueduct that can be viewed from Interstate 5.

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Aquapedia background February 11, 2014 All Things Drought Dams Layperson's Guide to the State Water Project

Oroville Dam

Oroville Dam, a key part of California's State Water Project.Oroville Dam is the centerpiece of the State Water Project (SWP) and its largest water storage facility.

Located about 70 miles north of Sacramento at the confluence of the three forks of the Feather River, Oroville Dam is an earthfill dam (consisting of an impervious core surrounded by sands, gravels and rockfill materials) that creates a reservoir that can hold 3.5 million acre-feet of water.

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Aquapedia background February 11, 2014

Lake Perris

The State Water Project facility Lake Perris, below the San Bernardino Mountains, stores water for Inland Empire cities such as San Bernardino and Riverside. [See also Santa Ana River.]

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