Central Valley Project
Contact: Jeff McCracken, (916) 978-5100
The Central Valley Project was originally conceived in the 1930s to protect the Central Valley from crippling water shortages and devastating floods. Today, the project delivers water for farms, homes, factories, and the environment, besides providing electric power, flood protection, navigation, recreation, and water quality benefits.
Major Project Benefits Reaching from the Cascade Mountains near Redding to the Tehachapi Mountains near Bakersfield, the Central Valley Project delivers about 9 million acre-feet of water. Of this, 5 million acre-feet irrigates about 3 million acres of farmlands and 600,000 acre-feet supplies municipal and industrial uses. In addition, 800,000 acre-feet is dedicated to fish and wildlife habitat and 410,000 acre-feet to state and federal wildlife refuges and wetlands, as required by the Central Valley Project Improvement Act.
The project plays a key role in California's economy, providing water for six of the top ten agricultural counties in the nation's leading farm state. It's estimated that the value of crops and related service industries has returned 100 times Congress' $3 billion investment in the project. In 1997, irrigation sales produced $60 million in income, municipal and industrial water revenues produced $19 million, and hydroelectric power sales yielded $34 million, for total project revenues of $113 million.
Major Project Facilities Twenty dams and reservoirs, 11 powerplants, 500 miles of major canals, and associated conduits, tunnels, and related structures comprise the Central Valley Project. Shasta Dam, completed in 1954, is the project's keystone. A temperature control device was recently installed at the dam to provide cold water for salmon while assuring the continued generation of hydroelectric power.
Other major project facilities include Friant Dam and Millerton Reservoir on the San Joaquin River, the Tracy Pumping Plant on the Sacramento River, and Folsom Dam on the American River.
Relevant Links:
Central Valley Project Website