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.
For a second consecutive year, Californians can celebrate the
rejuvenation of the state’s reservoirs. Lake Shasta, the
state’s largest reservoir, is full again after reaching
perilously low levels in the drought-stricken years from 2019
through 2022. The satellite images below, from the NASA, show
the lake in April 2022, at left — when it was at 40% capacity —
and then a little over two weeks ago, when the lake was a
lavish 96% full. On May 7, the lake was at 114% of its
historical average level. The so-called bathtub ring that
clearly outlined the lake in 2022 — so stark it was visible
from space — had disappeared by 2024. The image below
provides a closer look at Shasta’s former bathtub ring. Taken
Oct. 13, 2022, near the Pit River Bridge, the photo shows the
lake when it was 32% full.
For the first time in 80 years, a Northern California river
welcomed an endangered species of salmon to its
waters. Currently, spring-run and winter-run Chinook
Salmon are listed at the state and federal level as
“threatened” and “endangered,” which means they are considered
at critical risk of extinction. Since the 1940s, the winter-run
Chinook salmon have been blocked from accessing the McCloud
River area in California because of the Shasta and Keswick
dams. Because of the restriction, the California Department of
Water Resources, Winnemem Wintu Tribe, California
Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the National Oceanic
Atmospheric Association Fisheries Service said
they partnered together to “save the salmon” and help
the fish [migrate] to areas of the McCloud River.
Pictures taken from a NASA satellite earlier this month show a
big difference in the water level at Shasta Lake from just two
years ago. According to NASA, the older photo shows the lake at
around 40% capacity, the low water level leaving a bright
outline around California’s biggest reservoir. The more recent
aerial photo shows the lake as it is approaching full
capacity. As of May 20, Shasta Lake is at 97% of its
4,552,000 acre-feet capacity, about 15% above average for this
time of year. The lake was similarly full last year at about
98% of capacity on May 29, 2023. California’s second-biggest
reservoir, Lake Oroville, is currently at 100% capacity, 27%
fuller than average.
After another wet winter, record rainfall has turned California
green and replenished the state’s reservoirs, which had been
perilously low during the worst days of the drought. Lake
Oroville, the state’s second-biggest reservoir, often serves as
a rainfall barometer. As of Tuesday, Oroville was at 100%
capacity, according to data from the state Department of Water
Resources. … The left photograph shows Enterprise Bridge
on Dec. 21, 2022, when the lake was at 29% of its total
capacity. The right side shows the same area April 24, 2024,
when the lake was at 96% of capacity — a figure it has now
eclipsed. As of May 7, Lake Oroville was at 128% of its
historical level. Lake Shasta, the state’s largest reservoir,
was 97% full Tuesday, or 115% of its historical level.
Already fuller this year than it was at this time a year ago,
Lake Shasta continues to fill, creeping toward the top ―
sometimes rising just inches a day. But by early May, the lake
level is expected to stop rising and the long draw-down of the
lake will begin again and continue through the summer. The lake
is expected to reach about 5 feet from full sometime in early
May, according to Michael Burke, a spokesman for the U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation, which operates Shasta Dam. … Two
years ago, conditions at the lake were dire, with the water
level down to historically low levels. … But with the
lake fuller this year, many water agencies are receiving their
full allotment of water from the bureau.
The continued wet weather in the Northstate has left quite an
impact at Shasta Lake. California’s largest reservoir rose a
foot from Thursday to Friday, and 5 feet from January 26 to
February 2. Currently, Shasta Lake sits at 1,035 feet, roughly
30 feet from capacity. That’s an increase of 47 feet from this
date last year. … Overall, the weather station at Shasta
Dam has reported 36.56 inches of rain since the water year
began on October 1.
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 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.