Sacramento River

Water Quality Control Plan for the Sacramento and San Joaquin Basins

Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (CVRWQCB) | November 8th, 2016

Water Quality Control Plans or “Basin Plans” provide the foundation for all Central Valley Water Board regulatory actions. Basin Plans identify beneficial uses of sur

Water Quality Control Plans or “Basin Plans” provide the foundation for all Central Valley Water Board regulatory actions. Basin Plans identify beneficial uses of surface and ground waters, water quality objectives to protect those uses, implementation actions to achieve objectives, and a monitoring and surveillance program to insure that implementation actions are effective. All actions by the Board must be compliant with the Basin Plans. The Central Valley Water Board has two Basin Plans: one for the Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins and one for the Tulare Lake Basin. A public review process is conducted every three years (Triennial Review) to identify and prioritize actions needed to address water quality concerns and maintain effectiveness of the Basin Plans. Upon Board approval of the Triennial Review work plan, staff investigates water quality issues and proposes amendments to the Basin Plans for Board consideration. Amendments may range from developing site specific water quality objectives for a single constituent such as copper, to basin-wide control programs for a suite of potential pollutants such as pyrethroids, to policy recommendations and strategies for addressing emerging contaminants and/or climate change. This basin plan has many sections with many amendments, and so no attempt is made to house this document in the library.  Instead, please visit the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board's basin planning page.

Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Watershed (Draft)

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | July 25th, 2025

The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board or Board) has previously adopted water quality control plans and policies to protect water quality and control

The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board or Board) has previously adopted water quality control plans and policies to protect water quality and control the water resources that affect the beneficial uses of the Bay-Delta. These plans and policies were adopted consistent with section 13000 et seq. of the California Water Code and pursuant to the authority contained in section 13170. This Water Quality Control Plan covers the Bay-Delta estuary and tributary watersheds (Bay-Delta Plan or plan). The State Water Board will periodically review this plan, as discussed in section 4.6, pursuant to Water Code section 13240, to ensure that it provides reasonable protection for the designated beneficial uses. A summary description of the most recent updates to the plan are provided in section 1.4. 1 Current and previous versions of the Bay-Delta Plan and supporting documents are available at: 

Water quality for agriculture

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) | July 15th, 1985

Water Quality in Basin-Fill Aquifers of the Southwestern United States: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, 1993–2009

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | July 15th, 2014

Water Quality in the State Water Project, 2000 and 2001

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | April 1st, 2004

Water quality is routinely monitored at about 30 stations throughout the State Water Project (SWP). Water quality samples are collected by staff of the five field divisio

Water quality is routinely monitored at about 30 stations throughout the State Water Project (SWP). Water quality samples are collected by staff of the five field divisions in the Division of Operations and Maintenance and sent to Bryte Laboratory for analysis. SWP stations include those located in the Feather River watershed, North Bay Aqueduct, South Bay Aqueduct, and the California Aqueduct with its four terminus lakes in Southern California (Figure 1-1). Samples are collected on the third Wednesday of each month at the regular stations. Analyses include minerals, metals, metalloids, nutrients, organic chemicals, and disinfection by-product precursors. Further, around 15 automated water quality stations continuously monitor parameters such as salinity and turbidity on a real-time basis. Station descriptions and water quality constituents analyzed are detailed in Appendix A. Monitoring in the SWP is done on a routine basis to identify trends and assess water quality conditions with respect to long-term trends, operations, hydrology, seasons, emergencies, water treatment issues, and drinking water standards. Primary and secondary Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) apply to drinking water and were compared to SWP data to provide a relative indication of raw water quality. MCLs are presented in Appendix B. Water quality trend assessment focused on salinity, bromide, and organic carbon. Water quality in the California and South Bay Aqueducts was good during 2000 due, in part, to above normal water year conditions in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. Drier conditions in 2001 resulted in less favorable water quality with respect to mineralogy. North Bay Aqueduct exports exhibited the usual impairments during winter as a result of organic carbon and turbidity increases. Water quality in the Feather River watershed was excellent, as usual, with low to non-detectable levels of minerals and minor elements.

Water Quality Science in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: Chemical Contaminants and Nutrients

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | July 26th, 2018

This review focuses on contaminants and nutrients in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (the Delta), and on how findings about them have been sometimes used and sometimes n

This review focuses on contaminants and nutrients in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (the Delta), and on how findings about them have been sometimes used and sometimes neglected in decisions related to ecosystem health in the Delta. The review considers water quality measurements made both in support of basic research and as part of routine monitoring studies in the Delta. However, the topic of monitoring per se is not comprehensively covered in this review because the Delta ISB is in the initial stages of reviewing the extensive monitoring enterprise in the Delta. This review of water quality is based on responses to a questionnaire sent to government agencies and science programs, interviews with water quality specialists and users of water quality data, relevant scientific publications, presentations observed in workshops and conferences, and public comments received on draft versions of the review. While we sought input from a broad range of stakeholders, we do not assume that we received a complete range of perceptions about this important issue. Additionally, water quality research and monitoring efforts are constantly evolving in the Delta, and several new programs and improvements were made as this review was being researched and prepared. This review should be considered to be part of an ongoing process by the Delta ISB.

Water Resources Data for California, Water year 1983, Volume 2, Pacific Slope Basins from Arroyo Grande to Oregon State Line except Central Valley

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | January 15th, 1985

Water resources data for the 1983 water year for California consists of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage and contents in lakes and reservo

Water resources data for the 1983 water year for California consists of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage and contents in lakes and reservoirs; and water levels and water quality in wells. Volume 2 contains discharge records for 145 gaging stations; stage and contents for 19 lakes and reservoirs; water quality for 17 stations; water levels for 67 observation wells. Also included are 2 low-flow partial-record stations and 18 water-quality partial-record stations. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System operated by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in California.

Water Resources Development and Protection [Proposition 8]

LA Law Library (LALaw) | November 4th, 1980

Water Right Decision 1485: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | August 16th, 1978

Water Right Exactions

Social Science Research Network (SSRN) | May 15th, 2023