CDEC Reservoir Levels Map

California relies on water stored during wet years for use during dry years.
Water storage, both above and below ground is critical to California. 
 
The map below shows how much water is in California’s major above-ground storage.
These California’s Daily Reservoir Levels, per Department of Water Resources’ CDEC, is the water currently stored in our above-ground water storage.
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SWP-Recreation

windsurfer.jpgRecreation

SWP lakes offer a variety of recreational activities. At Project
lakes and reservoirs visitors will find opportunities to swim, picnic,
waterski, boat, fish, hike, bike, camp, and horseback ride.

Plans to construct the SWP included these recreational facilities for the benefit of the public.

Source:  California Department of Water Resources

SWP- Fish and Wildlife Protection

Fish and Wildlife Protection

The Project is operated to
protect the environment. Restricted pumping schedules, fish hatcheries, fish
screens and passages, mitigation agreements, fish surveys and monitoring, a
fish salvage facility, and habitat restoration, are some of the mechanisms for
fish and wildlife protection. The projects are also operated to meet instream
flow requirements in the Feather River, the Sacramento
River, and Delta channels.

The State Water Project, in cooperation with the federal Central Valley
Project, is operated to limit salinity intrusion into the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh. This is accomplished by supplementing
freshwater outflows to the ocean and limiting water exports from the Delta
during specific times of the year.

DWR spends about $20 million annually for various studies, habitat restoration
projects, and fish monitoring programs. These costs also include water
deliveries lost to pumping reductions (during fish migrations through the
Delta) and other operational restrictions.

Source:  California Department of Water Resources

SWP-Flood Protection

Flood Control

One of the SWP’s primary functions is flood control in Northern
California. A major flood in 1955 was the impetus for the
construction of Lake
Oroville.

Storage space is provided in Oroville and Lake Del Valle to capture flood flows
and protect areas downstream. Releases are coordinated with other flood control
reservoirs so flows stay within downstream channel capacities.

Floodwater storage space in SWP reservoirs is paid by the federal government,
which regulates how the reservoir space is managed during the rainy season.

Source:  California Department of Water Resources

SWP- Power

Power

The State Water Project requires dependable, economical power to pump water
to areas served by the Project’s contractors. Since 1984 SWP power requirements
have ranged from more than 8 billion kilowatthours a year, as in 1990, to under
4 billion kwh, as in 1995.

Today the SWP is one of California’s
larger energy producers and a major consumer of electricity. How much power SWP
facilities consume depends on contractor requests for water and the amount of water
available for delivery.

The SWP’s flexible pumping operations helps it to manage its power needs. This
flexibility is allowed by Project reservoirs, which temporarily store water
until it is needed to meet the daily and seasonal demands of its contracting
agencies.

Source:  California Department of Water Resources

State Water Project

CALIFORNIA STATE WATER PROJECT

The State Water Project has helped
fuel the economic growth of California.  But that economic growth will suffer as
jobs are lost and expenses increase due to the lack of a reliable water
supply.

The SWP’s main purposes are to provide water storage and delivery. Its
supply comes mainly from rainfall, snowmelt runoff, and excess flows in the
Delta during wet years.

SWP water is delivered to contracting agencies in Northern California, the San Francisco Bay
area, the Central Coast, San Joaquin
Valley, and Southern
California. The water supplements surface and groundwater
resources for most of these agencies.

swp.jpgThe California
State Water Project is a water storage and delivery system of reservoirs,
aqueducts, powerplants and pumping plants. Its main purpose is to store water
and distribute it to 29 urban and agricultural water suppliers in Northern
California, the San Francisco Bay Area, the San
Joaquin Valley, the Central Coast,
and Southern California. Of the contracted
water supply, 70 percent goes to urban users and 30 percent goes to
agricultural users.

The Project makes deliveries to two-thirds of California‘s population. It is maintained
and operated by the California Department of Water Resources.

The Project is also operated to improve water quality in the Delta, control
Feather River flood waters, provide
recreation, and enhance fish and wildlife.

Size

Today, the Project includes 32 storage facilities, reservoirs and lakes; 17
pumping plants; 3 pumping-generating plants; 5 hydroelectric power plants; and
about 660 miles of open canals and pipelines.

The Project provides supplemental water to approximately 20 million
Californians and about 660,000 acres of irrigated farmland.

Source: 
California Department of Water Resources

 

Additional benefits:

Power

Flood Control                                        

Fish and Wildlife Protection

Recreation