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. Urban areas also get water from the CVP; the Contra Costa Canal provides water to cities in Contra Costa County while the Santa Clara Valley Water District provides CVP water to several million urban customers.

The CVP’s main facilities include Shasta Dam and reservoir on the Sacramento River, Trinity Dam and Trinity Lake on the Trinity River, Folsom Dam and reservoir on the American River, New Melones Dam and reservoir on the Stanislaus River, Friant Dam and reservoir on the San Joaquin River; the Tracy Pumping Plant; Delta-Mendota Canal; and the joint-use (federal and state) San Luis Reservoir. The project is operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.