North Delta Water Management Program

Water management issues surrounding the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta continue to challenge water resource planners in California. Many agree there are problems and urge that they be corrected, but a consensus on how best to solve them has not yet been reached. Problems include frequent flooding due to unstable levees and constricted channels, flow patterns that are unfavorable for fish and water quality, and water level and circulation patterns that hinder irrigation.

During the last several years, various water resources problems have been corrected through application of the public environmental documentation and regulatory permit process. This process has also shown the importance of Federal permit regulations in governing projects in the Delta estuary.

To facilitate planning, the estuary has been divided into three study areas for evaluation of problems and needs unique to each area — North, South, and West. This report discusses concepts for a North Delta Water Management Program. The long-term planning and environmental documentation process will includeother reports and will take about three years to complete.

Planning flexibility afforded by the environmental documentation and regulatory permit process is expected to allow many of the concerns surrounding Delta water management to be resolved.