Central Valley Project Operations, Total Water Management Study, Central Valley Basin, California

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | January 1st, 1975

Central Valley Project Water Supply and Yield Study

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | December 26th, 2007

The CALFED Bay-Delta Authorization Act, Title 1 of Public Law 108-361 (the Water Supply, Reliability, and Environmental Improvement Act of 2004) directed the Secretary of

The CALFED Bay-Delta Authorization Act, Title 1 of Public Law 108-361 (the Water Supply, Reliability, and Environmental Improvement Act of 2004) directed the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), acting through the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), to conduct a study of available water supplies and existing and future needs for water in the State of California. The Secretary is to prepare a report identifying possible projects and water management actions that could provide new firm yield and water supply improvements for the CVP. The Secretary is also required to incorporate and revise, as necessary, the results of the 1995 Least-Cost CVP Yield Increase Plan originally required by section 3408(j) of Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) of 1992. The purpose of this Water Supply and Yield (WSAY) Study is to identify the following: 1. Opportunities for new firm yield and water supply improvements for CVP water service contractors (entities with contracts for the delivery of CVP water) 2. Water management actions or projects that would improve firm yield for the CVP while balancing the available supplies with existing demands 3. The financial costs of the water management actions or projects 4. Beneficiaries and beneficiaries’ willingness to pay for identified improvements

Central Valley Project: Issues and Legislation

Congressional Research Service (CRS) | November 25th, 2019

Chronology of major litigation involving the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | January 1st, 2013

A chronology of major litigation involving the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project from 1950 to 2007.

A chronology of major litigation involving the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project from 1950 to 2007.

City of Fresno et al v. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation et al

United States Court of of Federal Claims | December 17th, 2024

In this case, we are called upon to review how the federal government resolved a particular dispute over water distribution during the drought-ridden year of 2014

In this case, we are called upon to review how the federal government resolved a particular dispute over water distribution during the drought-ridden year of 2014. As we explain in more detail below, individual growers, irrigation districts (which provide water to farms), water districts (which provide water to municipalities), and the City of Fresno, all located within the area served by the Central Valley Project (“CVP” or “Project”), sued the United States (“government”) over its failure to deliver water they contend they were entitled to under a series of contracts. The government defended its water allocation decisions by pointing to obligations it had under other contracts, to deliver water to another set of entities. Through adjudication of a series of motions, the Court of Federal Claims dismissed several of the plaintiffs’ claims and granted summary judgment to the government on all remaining claims.

Classifying California’s stream thermal regimes for cold-water conservation

PLOS | August 20th, 2021

Stream temperature science and management is rapidly shifting from single-metric driven approaches to multi-metric, thermal regime characterizations of streamscapes. Giv

Stream temperature science and management is rapidly shifting from single-metric driven approaches to multi-metric, thermal regime characterizations of streamscapes. Given considerable investments in recovery of cold-water fisheries (e.g., Pacific salmon and other declining native species), understanding where cold water is likely to persist, and how coldwater thermal regimes vary, is critical for conservation. California’s unique position at the southern end of cold-water ecosystems in the northern hemisphere, variable geography and hydrology, and extensive flow regulation requires a systematic approach to thermal regime classification. We used publicly available, long-term (> 8 years) stream temperature data from 77 sites across California to model their thermal regimes, calculate three temperature metrics, and use the metrics to classify each regime with an agglomerative nesting algorithm. Then, we assessed the variation in each class and considered underlying physical or anthropogenic factors that could explain differences between classes. Finally, we considered how different classes might fit existing criteria for cool- or cold-water thermal regimes, and how those differences complicate efforts to manage stream temperature through regulation. Our results demonstrate that cool- and cold-water thermal regimes vary spatially across California. Several salient findings emerge from this study. Groundwater-dominated streams are a ubiquitous, but as yet, poorly explored class of thermal regimes. Further, flow regulation below dams imposes serial discontinuities, including artificial thermal regimes on downstream ecosystems. Finally, and contrary to what is often assumed, California reservoirs do not contain sufficient cold-water storage to replicate desirable, reach-scale thermal regimes. While barriers to cold-water conservation are considerable and the trajectory of cold-water species towards extinction is dire, protecting reaches that demonstrate resilience to climate warming remains worthwhile.

Climate Action Plan Phase 1 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Plan Update 2023

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | March 22nd, 2024

DWR developed the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Plan Update 2023 (Update 2023) to review its GHG reductions since Update 2020 and to update strategies for further re

DWR developed the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Plan Update 2023 (Update 2023) to review its GHG reductions since Update 2020 and to update strategies for further reduction consistent with legislative changes, including the GHG emissions reduction targets established in SB 1020 (2022) and SB 1203 (2022). It also includes DWR’s new role in emergency energy generation. Since the 2012 Plan was adopted, California’s wholesale electricity market has also seen a significant increase in renewable resources. To reflect this change and to align with industry practice in emission reporting, Update 2023 incorporates updated emission factors to determine emissions from unspecified market resources.

Climate Change and the Delta

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | October 1st, 2016

Climate change amounts to a fast approaching, “new” stressor in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta system. In response to California’s extreme natural hydroclimatic

Climate change amounts to a fast approaching, “new” stressor in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta system. In response to California’s extreme natural hydroclimatic variability, complex water-management systems have been developed, even as the Delta’s natural ecosystems have been largely devastated. Climate change is projected to challenge these management and ecological systems in different ways that are characterized by different levels of uncertainty. Future precipitation changes are less certain, with as many climate models projecting wetter conditions as drier. Warmer temperatures will likely enhance evaporation and raise water temperatures. Consequently, climate change is projected to yield both more extreme flood risks and greater drought risks. Effects on the Delta ecosystem that are traceable to warming include sea level rise, reduced snowpack, earlier snowmelt and larger storm-driven streamflow, warmer and longer summers, warmer summer water temperatures, and water-quality changes. These changes and their uncertainties will challenge the operations of water projects and uses throughout the Delta’s watershed and delivery areas. Although the effects of climate change on Delta ecosystems may be profound, the end results are difficult to predict, except that native species will fare worse than invaders. Successful preparation for the coming changes will require greater integration of monitoring, modeling, and decision-making across time, variables, and space than has been historically normal.

Climate Change Risks Faced by the California Central Valley Water Resource System

California Energy Commission (CEC) | ?

Observed climate trends and projections of accelerated future change have motivated several studies of the impacts of climate change on water resources management in Cal

Observed climate trends and projections of accelerated future change have motivated several studies of the impacts of climate change on water resources management in California. This paper presents a methodology that improves on previous approaches, revealing fundamental climate change risks to one of the State of California’s key water resource systems — the integrated California Central Valley System (CCVS). By using a bottom-up decision scaling approach, starting with a systematic climate change stress test of the performance of the system to changes in temperature and precipitation, specific vulnerabilities to the system are identified. This study also improves on previous water resource vulnerability analyses by incorporating and evaluating a much wider range of inter-annual precipitation variability than has previously been used. By drawing from the 1,100-year (reconstructed dendrochronology) record of Sacramento and San Joaquin river flows, vulnerabilities to low frequency natural climate variability are analyzed in concert with expected potential climate changes. The results of this analysis provide a comprehensive summary of the sensitivity of the system to climate change. This paper provides results and discussion of select future system performance metrics at 2050. Results indicate that declines in almost every category (e.g., supply, storage, delta outflow) of system performance are likely. The likelihood of severely degraded future performance is especially high for north-of-Delta carryover storage and Delta exports. The results of this study are expected to provide water managers and decision-makers with more actionable science because they provide probabilistic results that can be used in more traditional risk management approaches to planning of climate change adaptation investment decisions.

Climate Change Scenarios for Air and Water Temperatures in the Upper San Francisco Estuary: Implications for Thermal Regimes and Delta Smelt

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | June 10th, 2024