Shasta Dam creates the largest storage reservoir in the state,
Shasta Lake. In years of normal precipitation, the Shasta system
stores and distributes about 20 percent of the state’s developed
water — about 7 million acre-feet —through its massive system of
reservoirs and canals.
Located 12 miles north of Redding, Shasta traps the cold waters
of the Pit and McCloud rivers and the headwaters of the
Sacramento River behind its 602-foot curved, concrete face.
Water is transported 450 miles from Lake Shasta in Northern
California to the San Joaquin Valley. Along the way, the
Central Valley Project has long-term agreements with more than
250 contractors in 29 of California’s total 58 counties.
As California agencies brace for possible summer floods,
officials are warning visitors of Northern waterways to take
precaution as record-breaking snow packs built up from winter
storms continue to liquify. Both Lake Oroville and Lake Shasta
reported near-full capacity Monday. Shasta Reservoir, the
state’s largest man-made lake located on the upper Sacramento
River near the city of Redding, is now higher than it has been
in years. As of May 15, Lake Shasta is 98% full and
just a few feet shy of its 2019 high, according to the Bureau
of Reclamation. Water levels have risen nearly 150 feet since
the start of 2023.
Friant Water Authority Chief Operating Officer Johnny Amaral
spoke with The Sun for an upcoming episode of Sunrise
FM to discuss the lack of necessary water storage in
California, among many other issues. … While simply
raising Shasta Dam by 18.5 feet would provide an additional
634,000 acre-feet of water storage capacity, gathering enough
support for the project could feel seemingly impossible at
times. There’s one project, however, that Amaral thinks
could possibly stand a chance: Sites Reservoir – an off-stream
storage project that would not dam a river. Water would be
pumped in and out at need.
California when it rains: water cooler talk. Both Lake Oroville
and Lake Shasta reported near-full capacity Monday with plenty
of snow in the northern mountains anticipated to melt. Shasta
Lake reached 1,063 feet elevation on May 1 with four feet of
capacity remaining and Lake Oroville reached 890 feet on May 13
with 10 feet left of capacity — each holding steady since. Lake
Oroville is at 96% capacity and is expected to be filled into
the spring. Oroville last reached capacity in 2017 and in
the last 30 years reached capacity in 2017, 2012, 2011, 2006,
2005, 2003, 1998, 1996 and 1993, according to an email from DWR
Information Officer Jason Ince.
While Lake Shasta is brimming with water, Trinity Lake is less
than half full. There are several reasons why that happened
this year, according to the Bureau of Reclamation, and why the
situation at Trinity Dam may not be as dire as it sounds.
Winter rainstorms filled Lake Shasta to 98% of its capacity,
116% of its historic average for this time of year, according
to the California Department of Water Resources. The water
level at the dam is lapping a little more than three feet from
the top, Bureau of Reclamation Area Manager Donald Bader said.
Thanks to heavy rainfall across northern California over the
past few days, Lake Shasta’s water level is now higher than it
has been in years. As of May 9, the lake is at 1,063.77 feet
above water level, having risen nearly 150 feet since the start
of 2023. … The lake’s current levels are therefore only
just 3.2 feet shy of its 1,067-foot capacity. … Lake
Shasta, located in Shasta County, California, is
the biggest reservoir in the state. Its increased water
levels are due in large part to the heavy rainfall that
battered the state during the early spring, refilling many of
the dried-up reservoirs.
A California tribe has signed agreements with state and federal
agencies to work together on efforts to return endangered
Chinook salmon to their traditional spawning areas upstream of
Shasta Dam, a deal that could advance the long-standing goal of
tribal leaders to reintroduce fish that were transplanted from
California to New Zealand more than a century ago and still
thrive there. Members of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe have long
sought to restore a wild salmon population in the McCloud River
north of Redding, where their ancestors once lived. The
agreements that were signed this week for the first time
formally recognize the tribe as a partner participating in
efforts to save the endangered winter-run Chinook salmon.
Over the past year we’ve been showing you California’s effort
to save the winter run chinook salmon – a fish that has almost
been lost to dammed rivers and warming waters. It’s part of a
growing partnership between state and federal wildlife agencies
– and a small California tribe that’s been fighting to save
those fish for years, and bring them back home. On Monday, a
historic pact was signed to expand on those
efforts … For Sisk and the Winnemem Tribe this day
would have seemed improbable, or impossible, just a few years
ago. A tiny California tribe without federal recognition,
signing a formal agreement with state and federal partners.
When the moment arrived to actually sign the documents, the
tribe’s spiritual leader couldn’t help but acknowledge
generations of mistrust.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, NOAA Fisheries
and the Winnemem Wintu Tribe signed agreements to restore
Chinook salmon to the mountains north of Redding, California,
on May 1, 2023. The agreements support a joint effort to return
Chinook salmon to their original spawning areas in cold
mountain rivers now blocked by Shasta Reservoir in northern
California. The goal is ecological and cultural restoration
which will one day renew fishing opportunities for the tribe
that depended on the once-plentiful salmon for food and much
more. The tribe signed a co-management agreement with CDFW and
a co-stewardship agreement with NOAA Fisheries, reflecting the
way the two agencies describe accords with tribes. This
three-way collaboration is a historic achievement that advances
our common goals.
A sweeping overhaul of California’s water policy, specifically
the rules that govern water throughout the Central Valley, took
one step closer to becoming reality. Last week, the House
Committee on Natural Resources passed the Working to Advance
Tangible and Effective Reforms (WATER) for California Act,
which was introduced by Rep. David Valadao (R–Hanford).
The backstory: Valadao initially introduced the WATER for
California Act last December and brought it back for the new
Republican-controlled House in January. … Part of the
legislation centers on the 2019 biological opinions that govern
the state’s water usage. President Joe Biden’s administration
has been working to throw out the Trump-era rules and revert
back to the previous biological opinions administered in 2008
and 2009.
Snowmelt season is well underway, and as water flows down the
west slope of the Sierra, some of it is destined to end up in
Northern California’s reservoirs. Here’s an update on water
storage around the region. … Lake Shasta is
currently at 96% of capacity. At the start of April, the
reservoir was at 83% of capacity. As of Wednesday afternoon,
inflow from runoff is estimated to be around 12,000 cfs.
… Lake Oroville is also nearing capacity. On April 1,
storage was at 82%. As of Wednesday, storage is up to 90% with
19,000 cfs of runoff inflow. Water is being released at about
15,000 cfs to maintain space in the lake.
Researchers from NOAA Fisheries and University of California
Santa Cruz will tag several groups of juvenile salmon in the
Sacramento River system. The tags will help us measure the
benefits from the river’s first “pulse flow.” A pulse flow is a
rapid increase and decrease in dam released water designed to
resemble natural spring runoff. The researchers want to know if
the pulse flow increases the survival of juvenile salmon and
improves their chances of returning to the river as an adult to
spawn. They plan on measuring this by implanting tags into
juvenile salmon migrating downriver before, during, and after
the pulse. They will compare their speed and survival on the
way to the ocean.
The Bureau of Reclamation, NOAA Fisheries, and U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service announced the plan for two pulse flow releases
from Keswick Dam into the Sacramento River. Pulse flows are
rapid increases and decreases in dam-released flows, occurring
over a short time frame. The release of water helps improve
survival rates for out-migrating juvenile spring-run Chinook
salmon smolts through the Sacramento River in addition to the
planned releases of more than 10 million fall and winter-run
Chinook salmon from the Coleman National Fish Hatchery. Pulse
flows releases from Keswick Dam will be targeting flows at
Wilkins Slough of 11,000 cubic feet per second. The flow
release for the first pulse is scheduled to begin around April
24 and reach a peak of around 9,000 cfs. Flow rates will reduce
to around 7,000 cfs by April 29. The second pulse flow will
begin on or around May 8 and may reach a peak of around 12,000
cfs.
This tour explored the Sacramento River and its tributaries
through a scenic landscape while learning about the issues
associated with a key source for the state’s water supply.
All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of
California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State
Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project.
Water Education Foundation
2151 River Plaza Drive, Suite 205
Sacramento, CA 95833
This tour guided participants on a virtual exploration of the Sacramento River and its tributaries and learn about the issues associated with a key source for the state’s water supply.
All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project.
The deadliest and most destructive
wildfire in California history had a severe impact on the water
system in the town of Paradise. Participants on our Oct. 2-4
Northern California
Tour will hear from Kevin Phillips, general manager of
Paradise Irrigation District, on the scope of the damages, the
obstacles to recovery and the future of the water district.
The Camp Fire destroyed 90 percent of the structures in Paradise,
and 90 percent of the irrigation district’s ratepayer base. The
fire did not destroy the irrigation district’s water storage or
treatment facilities, but it did melt plastic pipes, releasing
contaminants into parts of the system and prompting do-not-drink
advisories to water customers.
One of California Gov. Gavin
Newsom’s first actions after taking office was to appoint Wade
Crowfoot as Natural Resources Agency secretary. Then, within
weeks, the governor laid out an ambitious water agenda that
Crowfoot, 45, is now charged with executing.
That agenda includes the governor’s desire for a “fresh approach”
on water, scaling back the conveyance plan in the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta and calling for more water recycling, expanded
floodplains in the Central Valley and more groundwater recharge.
Bruce Babbitt, the former Arizona
governor and secretary of the Interior, has been a thoughtful,
provocative and sometimes forceful voice in some of the most
high-profile water conflicts over the last 40 years, including
groundwater management in Arizona and the reduction of
California’s take of the Colorado River. In 2016, former
California Gov. Jerry Brown named Babbitt as a special adviser to
work on matters relating to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and
the Delta tunnels plan.
The growing leadership of women in water. The Colorado River’s persistent drought and efforts to sign off on a plan to avert worse shortfalls of water from the river. And in California’s Central Valley, promising solutions to vexing water resource challenges.
These were among the topics that Western Water news explored in 2018.
We’re already planning a full slate of stories for 2019. You can sign up here to be alerted when new stories are published. In the meantime, take a look at what we dove into in 2018:
This tour explored the Sacramento River and its tributaries
through a scenic landscape as participants learned about the
issues associated with a key source for the state’s water supply.
All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of
California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State
Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project. Tour
participants got an on-site update of Oroville Dam spillway
repairs.
The Colorado River Basin is more
than likely headed to unprecedented shortage in 2020 that could
force supply cuts to some states, but work is “furiously”
underway to reduce the risk and avert a crisis, Bureau of
Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman told an audience of
California water industry people.
During a keynote address at the Water Education Foundation’s
Sept. 20 Water Summit in Sacramento, Burman said there is
opportunity for Colorado River Basin states to control their
destiny, but acknowledged that in water, there are no guarantees
that agreement can be reached.
This tour explored the Sacramento River and its tributaries
through a scenic landscape as participants learned about the
issues associated with a key source for the state’s water supply.
All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of
California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State
Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project. Tour
participants got an on-site update of repair efforts on the
Oroville Dam spillway.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to California Water provides an
excellent overview of the history of water development and use in
California. It includes sections on flood management; the state,
federal and Colorado River delivery systems; Delta issues; water
rights; environmental issues; water quality; and options for
stretching the water supply such as water marketing and
conjunctive use. New in this 10th edition of the guide is a
section on the human need for water.
This printed copy of Western Water examines California’s drought
– its impact on water users in the urban and agricultural sector
and the steps being taken to prepare for another dry year should
it arrive.
This 25-minute documentary-style DVD, developed in partnership
with the California Department of Water Resources, provides an
excellent overview of climate change and how it is already
affecting California. The DVD also explains what scientists
anticipate in the future related to sea level rise and
precipitation/runoff changes and explores the efforts that are
underway to plan and adapt to climate.
Water as a renewable resource is depicted in this 18×24 inch
poster. Water is renewed again and again by the natural
hydrologic cycle where water evaporates, transpires from plants,
rises to form clouds, and returns to the earth as precipitation.
Excellent for elementary school classroom use.
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 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the Delta explores the competing
uses and demands on California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Included in the guide are sections on the history of the Delta,
its role in the state’s water system, and its many complex issues
with sections on water quality, levees, salinity and agricultural
drainage, fish and wildlife, and water distribution.
A new look for our most popular product! And it’s the perfect
gift for the water wonk in your life.
Our 24×36 inch California Water Map is widely known for being the
definitive poster that shows the integral role water plays in the
state. On this updated version, it is easier to see California’s
natural waterways and man-made reservoirs and aqueducts
– including federally, state and locally funded
projects – the wild and scenic rivers system, and
natural lakes. The map features beautiful photos of
California’s natural environment, rivers, water projects,
wildlife, and urban and agricultural uses and the
text focuses on key issues: water supply, water use, water
projects, the Delta, wild and scenic rivers and the Colorado
River.
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.
