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.
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.
