Publication May 20, 2014

Layperson’s Guide to the Central Valley Project
Updated 2021

The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the Central Valley Project explores the history and development of the federal Central Valley Project (CVP), California’s largest surface water delivery system. In addition to the project’s history, the guide describes the various CVP facilities, CVP operations, the benefits the CVP brought to the state and the CVP Improvement Act (CVPIA).

The guide also includes information on and challenges facing the Bay-Delta Estuary; the San Joaquin River Restoration Program; contract renewals; land retirement; and implementation of the CVPIA, including its anadromous fish restoration program.

Order in bulk (25 or more copies of the same guide) for a reduced rate. Contact the Foundation, 916-444-6240, for details.

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Western Water January 17, 2019 Layperson's Guide to the Central Valley Project San Joaquin River Restoration Map Gary Pitzer

Key California Ag Region Ponders What’s Next After Voters Spurn Bond to Fix Sinking Friant-Kern Canal
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Subsidence chokes off up to 60% of canal’s capacity to move water to aid San Joaquin Valley farms and depleted groundwater basins

The whims of political fate decided in 2018 that state bond money would not be forthcoming to help repair the subsidence-damaged parts of Friant-Kern Canal, the 152-mile conduit that conveys water from the San Joaquin River to farms that fuel a multibillion-dollar agricultural economy along the east side of the fertile San Joaquin Valley.

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Friant-Kern Canal

A part of the federal Central Valley Project, the 152-mile Friant-Kern Canal in California’s San Joaquin Valley plays a critical role in delivering water to 1 million acres of farmland and 250,000 people from the Fresno area south to Bakersfield.

Aquapedia background February 11, 2014 California Water Map Layperson's Guide to the Central Valley Project

Tulare Lake Basin

Until the early 1900s, Central California’s Tulare Lake naturally appeared every winter as the southernmost rivers flowing out of the Sierra Nevada filled the dry lakebed with rainfall and melted snow.

In the spring, the shallow lake near Visalia could cover as much as 790 square miles, or four times the surface area of Lake Tahoe. By the end of the hot San Joaquin Valley summer, however, the giant lake – once the largest freshwater body west of the Mississippi River – could disappear primarily due to evaporation.

Aquapedia background February 11, 2014 Dams Layperson's Guide to the Central Valley Project California Water Map

Shasta Dam

Shasta Dam forms California’s largest storage reservoir, Shasta Lake, which can hold about 4.5 million acre-feet.

As the keystone of the federal Central Valley Project, Shasta stands among the world’s largest dams. Construction on the dam began in 1938 and was completed in 1945, with flood control as the highest priority.

Aquapedia background February 11, 2014 Dams Layperson's Guide to the Central Valley Project Layperson's Guide to the State Water Project

San Luis Reservoir

The San Luis Reservoir is the largest off-stream reservoir in the United States, serving as a key water facility for both the State Water Project (SWP) and the federal Central Valley Project (CVP).

Aquapedia background February 3, 2014 Layperson's Guide to the Central Valley Project Layperson's Guide to the State Water Project Oroville Dam Shasta Dam Hoover Dam

Dams

Folsom Dam on the American River east of Sacramento

Dams have allowed Californians and others across the West to harness and control water dating back to pre-European settlement days when Native Americans had erected simple dams for catching salmon.

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Central Valley Project Improvement Act

The Central Valley Project Improvement Act supports a major federal effort to store and transport water in California’s Central Valley.

The 1992 Act changed operations of Central Valley Project; a major project that addresses flooding, storage and irrigation issues in the valley [see also Central Valley Project].

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Central Valley Project

Birthed in part by a long-ago federal effort to create farmland, the Central Valley Project today is one of the largest water storage and transport systems in the world. In years of normal precipitation, it stores and distributes about 20 percent of the state’s developed water through its massive system of reservoirs and canals.

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Layperson’s Guide to the Central Valley Project Updated 2021

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Layperson’s Guide to the Central Valley Project
Updated 2021