Its construction authorized by the Rivers and Harbors Act of
1937, the massive Central Valley Project
(CVP) encompasses 20 reservoirs with a combined storage capacity
of 11 million acre-feet, eight power plants, two
pumping-generating plants and some 500 miles of major canals and
aqueducts. In a normal year, the CVP delivers 7 million acre-feet
of water to about 3 million acres of farmland in the Central
Valley.
In 1960, California voters approved financing for construction of
the initial features of the State Water Project (SWP).
The project includes some 22 dams and reservoirs, a Delta
pumping plant, a 444-mile-long aqueduct that carries water
from the Delta through the San Joaquin Valley to
Southern California.
The 1,440-mile-long Colorado
River passes through parts of seven states, several Indian
reservations and the Republic of Mexico.
California is entitled to 4.4 million acre-feet of water annually
from river.
Many cities rely on local water projects for all or a portion of
their supplies. These projects typically were built and are
operated by local public water districts, county water
departments, city water departments or other special districts.
Nearly 600 special purpose local agencies in California provide
water to their areas through local development projects and
imported supplies.
About 30 percent of California’s total annual water supply comes
from groundwater in normal
years, and up to 60 percent in drought years. Local communities’ usage
may be different; many areas rely exclusively on groundwater
while others use only surface
water supplies. Contrary to popular opinion, groundwater does
not exist in underground lakes.
A number of large population centers in California have developed
their own extensive water projects. The Hetch Hetchy
Project transports Tuolumne River water 156 miles
from the Central Sierra
Nevada to San Francisco and peninsula cities.
