The State Water Project (SWP) is responsible for bringing
drinking water to 25 million people and provides irrigation for
750,000 acres of farmland. Without it California would never have
become the economic powerhouse it is today.
The nation’s largest state-built water and power development and
conveyance system, the SWP 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.
The SWP has required the construction of 21 dams and more than
700 miles canals, pipelines and tunnels. To reach Southern
California, the water must be pumped 2,000 feet over the
Tehachapi Mountains; it’s the highest water lift in the world.
Today, about 30 percent of SWP water is used for irrigation,
mostly in the San Joaquin Valley, and about 70 percent is used
for residential, municipal and industrial use, mainly in Southern
California but also in the Bay Area. The SWP was built and is
operated by the California Department of Water Resources.
This will be the first time in several years that California
will enter summer with the majority of its reservoirs at or
over 90 percent of total capacity, according to data from the
California Department of Water Resources. As of Saturday,
Shasta, Oroville, Folsom, New Bullards Bar, San Luis, Castaic
and Cachuma reservoirs are over 90 percent of their total
capacity and in the case of Shasta and Oroville are less than 5
percent away from being full. Each of these reservoirs is
all well over their historic averages for this time
point-in-time of the year. Lake Oroville, which is the
second largest reservoir in the state, has a current depth of
895 feet and is storing about 3.47 million acre-feet of water.
As California transitions to a hotter, drier future with
greater swings between flood and drought conditions like we’ve
seen this past year, DWR is continuing to prepare for the
long-term impact on water management. DWR has been and
continues to adapt to these extreme weather swings by focusing
on advancing our forecasting efforts in order to capture and
move as much water as possible during high flow events and
managing low flow in drought conditions. This year’s series of
atmospheric rivers demonstrated how quickly California can move
from one extreme to another, as 3 years of severe drought
conditions gave way to flooding and one of the largest
snowpacks on record.
The California state auditor blasted the Department of Water
Resources for failing to properly plan for climate change, and
for a lack of transparency around water management
decisions…State Auditor Grant Parks said in a
report Thursday that the agency’s forecasts are unreliable
due to outdated models, causing errors… The department
says it has a plan to improve forecasts, and piloted a new
model in certain watersheds in 2022.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on May 19 a plan to build out
California’s clean and green future faster, but some local
leaders aren’t thrilled with what it could mean for the
controversial Delta Tunnel project. Newsom and the state
Department of Water Resources have shown support for the $16
billion project to convey water from the Delta down to southern
California, a concept tossed around since the 1980s. The
current iteration downsizes the project from two tunnels to
one. The governor hopes to speed up construction, expedite
court reviews, streamline permitting and California
Environmental Quality Act processes and start a climate
projects financing program — all to expedite clean
infrastructure projects across the state.
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.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and his administration have touted plans to
build a tunnel to transport water beneath the Sacramento-San
Joaquin River Delta, saying the project would modernize
California’s water infrastructure and help the state adapt to
climate change. But an advocacy group is urging the
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to abandon
the $16-billion project, saying it doesn’t make financial sense
for the state’s largest urban water agency. In a report
released this week, the California Water Impact Network said
the delta tunnel may seem like a viable alternative but has
three major flaws: “an exorbitant price tag, environmental
restrictions on operations and the impacts of climate change on
deliveries.” … Over the past two decades, the MWD has
spent about $240 million on planning for iterations of the
proposed tunnel. The agency’s 38-member board has yet to take a
vote on whether to support the so-called Delta Conveyance
Project.
Deven Upadhyay is the assistant general manager and executive
officer for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California, which provides water to 19 million people. We asked
Upadhyay to tell us how Met is handling California’s recent
precipitation whiplash—and what future improvements might be in
the works. Met has seen big declines in State Water
Project deliveries in recent years and the potential for
significant cuts in Colorado River supplies. What kinds of
challenges does this pose? First, it helps to understand
how the Metropolitan system works and how it interacts with
local systems in Southern California. We operate a giant
network of pipes and facilities that allows us to move water
around the region. We import water from two sources: the
Colorado River, via the Colorado River Aqueduct, and the
northern Sierra, via the State Water Project (SWP). …
California’s reservoirs are filled to the brim. Our snowpack is
epic. And, in what feels like a near-miraculous turn of events,
less than 8 percent of the state is still considered to be in a
drought. Another perk of this water bounty: The two biggest
water systems that send clean water throughout California will
both, for the first time in nearly two decades, deliver all of
the water requested by cities, farms and businesses. This is
great news for a state that was mired in extreme drought and
struggling to survive off reduced water supplies for years. …
[I]t doesn’t rain equally across California. So the state has
storage and conveyance systems that capture water in its
precipitation-blessed far north and northeast regions and
transport it through a series of reservoirs, dams, rivers and
aqueducts to the rest of the state.
In March, the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife delivered
grim news to Californians: only 62,000 adult Chinook salmon had
returned from the Pacific Ocean to Sacramento River basin
tributaries in 2022. The number is substantially fewer than the
targeted minimum of 125,000 fish set by the Pacific Fishery
Management Council (PFMC), the entity that manages groundfish,
coastal pelagic species, highly migratory species, and salmon
fisheries on the West Coast of the United States. …
Reports and posts accompanying the salmon season closure have
been rife with misinformation, repeating three persistent and
self-serving myths regarding the factors that have contributed
to the imperiled state of Central Valley salmon runs. What are
those myths?
Even after a surplus of water fell on the state this past
winter, California continues to face problems brought on by the
years of drought that plagued the state. Earlier this
month, the California Department of Water Resources
announced that there would be no restrictions in water
allocation from the State Water Project for the first time
since 2006 due to a tremendous increase in reservoir storage.
… While reservoir storage can see tremendous gains in a
single year, the same can’t be said for groundwater. Years of
overpumping groundwater aquifers, particularly in the San
Joaquin Valley, has caused the land to subside.
If the Delta Conveyance Project had already been constructed,
in 2023 the project would have provided zero acre feet of
additional water supply, while contractors would have had to
pay as much as $1 billion or more to pay for the project this
year. However, you’d never know this based on DWR’s
latest misinformation about its Delta tunnel project.
… Currently, the State Water Project’s and federal
Central Valley Project’s existing pumping plants in the South
Delta could be diverting a lot more water than they are today
while complying with existing or even stronger environmental
regulations. However, for the past several weeks the SWP
and CVP have been pumping significantly less water than they
are allowed to, because San Luis Reservoir is completely full,
meaning there is no place for the CVP and SWP to store
additional water diversions.
Explore 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 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 ventured through California’s Central Valley, known as the nation’s breadbasket thanks to an imported supply of surface water and local groundwater. Covering about 20,000 square miles through the heart of the state, the valley provides 25 percent of the nation’s food, including 40 percent of all fruits, nuts and vegetables consumed throughout the country.
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.
This tour guided participants on a virtual journey deep into California’s most crucial water and ecological resource – the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The 720,000-acre network of islands and canals support the state’s two major water systems – the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project. The Delta and the connecting San Francisco Bay form the largest freshwater tidal estuary of its kind on the West coast.
A government agency that controls much of California’s water
supply released its initial allocation for 2021, and the
numbers reinforced fears that the state is falling into another
drought. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said Tuesday that most
of the water agencies that rely on the Central Valley Project
will get just 5% of their contract supply, a dismally low
number. Although the figure could grow if California gets more
rain and snow, the allocation comes amid fresh weather
forecasts suggesting the dry winter is continuing. The National
Weather Service says the Sacramento Valley will be warm and
windy the next few days, with no rain in the forecast.
Voluntary agreements in California
have been touted as an innovative and flexible way to improve
environmental conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
and the rivers that feed it. The goal is to provide river flows
and habitat for fish while still allowing enough water to be
diverted for farms and cities in a way that satisfies state
regulators.
The southern part of California’s Central Coast from San Luis Obispo County to Ventura County, home to about 1.5 million people, is blessed with a pleasing Mediterranean climate and a picturesque terrain. Yet while its unique geography abounds in beauty, the area perpetually struggles with drought.
Indeed, while the rest of California breathed a sigh of relief with the return of wet weather after the severe drought of 2012–2016, places such as Santa Barbara still grappled with dry conditions.
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.
Imported water from the Sierra
Nevada and the Colorado River built Southern California. Yet as
drought, climate change and environmental concerns render those
supplies increasingly at risk, the Southland’s cities have ramped
up their efforts to rely more on local sources and less on
imported water.
Far and away the most ambitious goal has been set by the city of
Santa Monica, which in 2014 embarked on a course to be virtually
water independent through local sources by 2023. In the 1990s,
Santa Monica was completely dependent on imported water. Now, it
derives more than 70 percent of its water locally.
In the universe of California water, Tim Quinn is a professor emeritus. Quinn has seen — and been a key player in — a lot of major California water issues since he began his water career 40 years ago as a young economist with the Rand Corporation, then later as deputy general manager with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and finally as executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. In December, the 66-year-old will retire from ACWA.
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.
Get a unique view of the San Joaquin Valley’s key dams and
reservoirs that store and transport water on our March Central
Valley Tour.
Our Central Valley
Tour, March 14-16, offers a broad view of water issues
in the San Joaquin Valley. In addition to the farms, orchards,
critical habitat for threatened bird populations, flood bypasses
and a national wildlife refuge, we visit some of California’s
major water infrastructure projects.
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.
For as long as agriculture has existed in the Central Valley,
farmers have pumped water from the ground to sustain their
livelihood and grow food consumed by much of the nation. This has
caused the ground in certain places to sink, sometimes
dramatically, eliminating valuable aquifer storage space that can
never be restored.
One of the wettest years in California history that ended a
record five-year drought has rejuvenated the call for new storage
to be built above and below ground.
In a state that depends on large surface water reservoirs to help
store water before moving it hundreds of miles to where it is
used, a wet year after a long drought has some people yearning
for a place to sock away some of those flood flows for when they
are needed.
Flowing into the heart of the Mojave Desert, the Mojave River
exists mostly underground. Surface channels are usually dry
absent occasional groundwater surfacing and flooding
from extreme weather events like El Niño.
With a holding capacity of more than 260 billion gallons, Diamond
Valley Lake is
Southern California’s largest reservoir. It sits about 90
miles southeast of Los Angeles and just west of Hemet in
Riverside County where it was built in 2000. The offstream
reservoir was created by three large dams that connect the surrounding
hills, costing around $1.9 billion and doubling the region’s
water storage capacity.
This 30-minute documentary, produced in 2011, explores the past,
present and future of flood management in California’s Central
Valley. It features stories from residents who have experienced
the devastating effects of a California flood firsthand.
Interviews with long-time Central Valley water experts from
California Department of Water Resources (FloodSAFE), U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, Central Valley Flood
Management Program and environmental groups are featured as they
discuss current efforts to improve the state’s 150-year old flood
protection system and develop a sustainable, integrated, holistic
flood management plan for the Central Valley.
This 30-minute documentary-style DVD on the history and current
state of the San Joaquin River Restoration Program includes an
overview of the geography and history of the river, historical
and current water delivery and uses, the genesis and timeline of
the 1988 lawsuit, how the settlement was reached and what was
agreed to.
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.
15-minute DVD that graphically portrays the potential disaster
should a major earthquake hit the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
“Delta Warning” depicts what would happen in the event of an
earthquake registering 6.5 on the Richter scale: 30 levee breaks,
16 flooded islands and a 300 billion gallon intrusion of salt
water from the Bay – the “big gulp” – which would shut down the
State Water Project and Central Valley Project pumping plants.
Water truly has shaped California into the great state it is
today. And if it is water that made California great, it’s the
fight over – and with – water that also makes it so critically
important. In efforts to remap California’s circulatory system,
there have been some critical events that had a profound impact
on California’s water history. These turning points not only
forced a re-evaluation of water, but continue to impact the lives
of every Californian. This 2005 PBS documentary offers a
historical and current look at the major water issues that shaped
the state we know today. Includes a 12-page viewer’s guide with
background information, historic timeline and a teacher’s lesson.
A companion to the Truckee River Basin Map poster, this 24×36
inch poster, suitable for framing, explores the Carson River, and
its link to the Truckee River. The map includes Lahontan Dam and
Reservoir, the Carson Sink, and the farming areas in the basin.
Map text discusses the region’s hydrology and geography, the
Newlands Project, land and water use within the basin and
wetlands. Development of the map was funded by a grant from the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region, Lahontan Basin
Area Office.
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 Flood Management explains the
physical flood control system, including levees; discusses
previous flood events (including the 1997 flooding); explores
issues of floodplain management and development; provides an
overview of flood forecasting; and outlines ongoing flood control
projects.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Monterey Amendment, a 1994 pact between Department of Water
Resources and State Water Project contractors, helped ease
environmental stresses on the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta.
As part of large-scale restructuring of water supply contracts,
the Monterey Amendment allowed for storage of excess flows during
wet years in groundwater banks and surface storage reservoir.
This stored water could then be used later during dry periods or
to help the Delta.
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.]
Edmund G. “Pat” Brown (1905-1996) was California’s governor from
1959-1967, exemplified the best in public service and left a
wide-ranging legacy that featured first and foremost the State
Water Project (SWP) and California Aqueduct but also included the
Fair Housing Act, the Fair Employment Act, the Master Plan for
Higher Education and highway expansion.
One of two State Water Project aqueducts serving Southern
California, the East Branch Aqueduct stores water in Silverwood
Lake and Lake Perris.
After being pumped over the Tehachapi Mountains from the
Edmonston Pumping Plant, water for the East Branch Aqueduct
passes through Palmdale and Lancaster [see also West Branch Aqueduct]. The
water is then stored for distribution to Inland Empire cities
such as San Bernardino and Riverside.
The Delta Pumping Plant Fish Protection Agreement stems from an
early effort to balance the needs of fish protection and State Water Project
operations. Negotiated in the mid-1980s, the agreement
foreshadowed future battles over fish protection and pumping.
[See also Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta.]
The C.W. Bill Jones Pumping Plant (formerly known as the Tracy
Pumping Plant) sits at the head of the 117-mile long Delta-Mendota Canal.
Completed in 1951, the canal begins near Tracy, Calif. and
follows the Coast Range south, providing irrigation water to the
west side of the San
Joaquin Valley along its route and terminating at Mendota
Pool.
The world’s largest water lift, the Edmonston Pumping Plant is a
State Water Project
facility. The pumping plant plays a vital role in Southern
California’s economy by supplying the semi-arid region with badly
needed water.
This issue of Western Water looks at the BDCP and the
Coalition to Support Delta Projects, issues that are aimed at
improving the health and safety of the Delta while solidifying
California’s long-term water supply reliability.
This printed issue of Western Water features a
roundtable discussion with Anthony Saracino, a water resources
consultant; Martha Davis, executive manager of policy development
with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency and senior policy advisor
to the Delta Stewardship Council; Stuart Leavenworth, editorial
page editor of The Sacramento Bee and Ellen Hanak, co-director of
research and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of
California.
This printed issue of Western Water examines the issues
associated with the State Water Board’s proposed revision of the
water quality Bay-Delta Plan, most notably the question of
whether additional flows are needed for the system, and how they
might be provided.
This printed issue of Western Water looks at the energy
requirements associated with water use and the means by which
state and local agencies are working to increase their knowledge
and improve the management of both resources.
This printed issue of Western Water examines the
changed nature of the California Water Plan, some aspects of the
2009 update (including the recommendation for a water finance
plan) and the reaction by certain stakeholders.
This printed issue of Western Water examines the area
of origin laws, what they mean to those who claim their
protections and the possible implications of the Tehama Colusa
Canal Authority’s lawsuit against the Bureau of Reclamation.
This printed issue of Western Water provides an overview of the
idea of a dual conveyance facility, including questions
surrounding its cost, operation and governance
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.
