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The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is part of the
California Natural Resources Agency The California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) is a state cabinet-level agency in the government of California. The institution and jurisdiction of the Natural Resources Agency is provided for in California Government Code sections 12800 and 128 ...
and is responsible for the management and regulation of the State of California's
water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...
usage. The department was created in 1956 by Governor Goodwin Knight following severe flooding across Northern California in 1955, where they combined the Division of Water Resources of the Department of Public Works with the State Engineer's Office, the Water Project Authority, and the State Water Resources Board. It is headquartered in
Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
.


History


1850-1875

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
recognizes many types of water rights. Prior to the
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...
, signed in 1848, California was part of Mexico. Riparian rights were the most prevalent type of water right. Under riparian rights, which have their origins in Roman law, a landowner can use water flowing by his property for use on his property. When California became part of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, the United States agreed to recognize existing law. Pueblo rights were the only vested water rights at the time. Pueblo rights provided that Spanish and Mexican
pueblos The Puebloans or Pueblo peoples, are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Currently 100 pueblos are actively inhabited, among which Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Zu ...
were entitled to the paramount beneficial use of all needed naturally occurring water from the entire watershed of a stream flowing through the pueblo. When gold was discovered in 1848, immigrants from all over the world came to California. During the California Gold Rush, gold miners would divert large quantities of water from rivers and streams for hydraulic mining. Local custom dictated how water was shared in mining camps, but in general, the miners followed the same practice in allocating water as they did in staking their mineral claims. In its earliest form, an appropriative water right was created simply by taking water and putting it to beneficial use. However, to "state a claim" miners would often post a notice to others that they were taking and using water. Soon after California became a
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
in 1850, the first session of the California State Legislature immediately adopted laws to deal with the state's water. This included the adoption of the
English common law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, be ...
system, which also included the doctrine of riparian rights, although this system was better suited to the water-rich
eastern United States The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...
. Shortly thereafter, Californian courts recognized appropriative water rights. Because of these plural systems of water allocation, disputes soon ensued; these differences were resolved by the state courts. In 1872, the Legislature adopted a procedure in the Civil Code to provide a method for those claiming an appropriative water right to record their claims with the county recorder of each county. In 1886, the courts addressed competing claims between riparians and appropriators in the case of ''"Lux v. Haggin."'' However, within 25 years, excessive claims to water rights threatened to affect economic development in the state. In response, the governor formed a Water Commission to make recommendations regarding California's water law. In 1913, Californian voters adopted by referendum the Water Commission Act, which created the state Water Commission and set forth an administrative procedure for acquiring an appropriative right. In 1926, the courts held that a riparian water user was entitled to the full flow of a stream, without regard to the reasonableness of the use. In response, in 1928, the California Constitution was amended to require that all water use in California be reasonable and beneficial. (Article X, Section 2).


1875–1900

In 1878,
William Hammond Hall William Hammond Hall (1846–1934) was a civil engineer who was the first State Engineer of California, and designed Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, CA. Biography William Hammond Hall was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, on February 12, 1846. ...
of the Office of State Engineer conducted a series of investigations in California's Central Valley and drafted a series of plans calling for various publicly funded and owned irrigation projects. Hall's study was accomplished on a budget of $100,00

The Central Valley continued to grow in the absence of a state-run project, yet Central Valley landowners and coastal cities (including
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
) managed to acquire water rights in the Sierra Nevada mountain range for use in the valley.


1900–1925

In response to growing political and legal contests for limited water resources, the Water Commission Act of 1913 established the Water Commission to oversee permits associated with the rights to use surface water. The Water Commission Act became effective on December 19, 1914. Landowners or water users that had established water usage prior to 1914 became senior water rights users in many of the more accessible watersheds in the state. Appropriative water rights were processed by the Division of Water Rights, originally under the State Engineer, and subsequently under the Department of Water Resources, the State Water Rights Board, and finally, the State Water Resources Control Board. In 1919, Col. Robert B. Marshall, Chief Surveyor for the
U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...
, proposed a plan for the federal government to build a series of diversion dams, and two grand canals along the sides of the
Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
and
San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...
s, consequently irrigating California's Central Valley. Though national interest in Marshall's plan was limited, there was an interest in California for pursuing the proposed project.


1925–1950

In 1927, the California State Legislature passed a law authorizing the Department of Finance to file applications with the Division of Water Rights to reserve any unappropriated surface water for future development. A number of claims were filed on July 30, 1927. The department subsequently acquired water rights permits that resulted from some of these filings. In 1933, the California State Legislature and Governor
James Rolph James "Sunny Jim" Rolph Jr. (August 23, 1869 â€“ June 2, 1934) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected to a single term as the 27th governor of California from January 6, 1931, until his death on June 2 ...
approved the construction of the
Central Valley Project The Central Valley Project (CVP) is a federal power and water management project in the U.S. state of California under the supervision of the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). It was devised in 1933 in order to provide irrigation an ...
, with initial plans to build a 420-foot dam at Kennett. This would provide regular flows out to the San Francisco Estuary, reducing salinity intrusion into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Unable to finance the construction of Kennett Dam, the state applied to the federal government for aid. After the
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
Committee on Rivers and Harbors reviewed the state plans, Congress enacted the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1935, giving the
U.S. federal government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fed ...
control over the
Central Valley Project The Central Valley Project (CVP) is a federal power and water management project in the U.S. state of California under the supervision of the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). It was devised in 1933 in order to provide irrigation an ...
(CVP).


1950–1975

In the mid-1950s, California was experiencing substantial growth. San Francisco's
Caspar W. Weinberger Caspar Willard Weinberger (August 18, 1917 â€“ March 28, 2006) was an American statesman and businessman. As a prominent Republican, he served in a variety of state and federal positions for three decades, including chairman of the Californ ...
, Chairman of the
California Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Ass ...
Government Organization Committee, held a series of statewide hearings in 1954 and 1955 focused on creating a State Water Project that could supply the growing municipal and agricultural demands of the state. On July 5, 1956 in a special session of the
California Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Ass ...
, Governor Goodwin J. Knight signed Weinberger's bill to combine the then Division of Water Resources of the Department of Public Works with the State Engineer's Office, the Water Project Authority, and the State Water Resources Board into a new department: the Department of Water Resources. Consulting engineer Harvey O. Banks was appointed by Governor Knight as the department's first director and given the task of developing a plan for the proposed State Water Project. In 1959, the Legislature enacted the Burns-Porter Act which authorized $1.75 billion for the construction of the proposed State Water Project. The Burns-Porter Act was approved by Californian voters in 1960 and in the same year the Whale Rock Dam, DWR's first major water project located near
San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly hal ...
, was completed. In 1961, William Warne was appointed director of the department and oversaw the construction of a key facility in the operation of the State Water Project: Oroville Dam. The DWR and the
United States Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...
also signed an agreement to design a joint reservoir in San Luis. Because water from the Oroville and Shasta dams (from the existing Central Valley Project) would be moved down the existing
Sacramento River The Sacramento River ( es, Río Sacramento) is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento†...
channel into the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, excess flows would roll through the delta and then be stored in the Central Valley until needed. Construction of the Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant, located near
Tracy, California Tracy is the second most populated city in San Joaquin County, California, United States. The population was 93,000 at the 2020 census. Tracy is located inside a geographic triangle formed by Interstate 205 on the north side of the city, Inters ...
, also began in 1963.


DWR timeline


Legal and political authorization

Though the DWR was formed in 1956 with the purpose to build and operate the State Water Project, as a state organization responsible for the development and protection of water resources, the department has since been subject to numerous legislative, judicial, and administrative orders that dictate how the department should protect the public trust. Like any other water user, the DWR must apply for water rights permits from the State Water Resources Control Board. The water rights decisions of the Control Board limit the amount of water that the department can provide to communities and also are responsible for many of the legal, administrative, and environmental projects that the department has adopted. Unlike most other users, the department also must answer to the Governor's Office and State Legislature.
Flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...
and local assistance programs often have a basis in the DWR's role as a resource trustee, while water supply, environmental mitigation, and electricity generation are often related to the DWR's role as a water permittee.


State Water Project


Scope

The project makes deliveries to two-thirds of California's population. It includes 34 storage facilities, reservoirs and lakes; 20 pumping plants; four pumping-generating plants; five hydroelectric power plants; and about 701 miles of open canals and pipelines.


State Water Project facts and figures


List of DWR projects


Conveyance and storage facilities

*
Oroville Dam Oroville Dam is an earthfill embankment dam on the Feather River east of the city of Oroville, California, in the Sierra Nevada foothills east of the Sacramento Valley. At 770 feet (235 m) high, it is the tallest dam in the U.S. and ser ...
(1967) *
North Bay Aqueduct The North Bay Aqueduct (NBA) is part of the California State Water Project that was built in two phases, Phase I (1967-1968) and Phase II (1985-1988). The aqueduct is long all in pipelines and serves Napa and Solano counties, California. The ...
* Clifton Court Forebay * Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant (1968) * South Bay Aqueduct *
California Aqueduct The Governor Edmund G. Brown California Aqueduct is a system of canals, tunnels, and pipelines that conveys water collected from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and valleys of Northern and Central California to Southern California. Named after Califo ...
** West Branch ** East Branch ** Coastal Branch *
O'Neill Forebay O'Neill Forebay is a forebay to the San Luis Reservoir created by the construction of O'Neill Dam across San Luis Creek approximately west of Los Banos, California, United States, on the eastern slopes of the Pacific Coast Ranges of Merced Co ...
*
San Luis Reservoir The San Luis Reservoir is an artificial lake on San Luis Creek in the eastern slopes of the Diablo Range of Merced County, California, approximately west of Los Banos on State Route 152, which crosses Pacheco Pass and runs along its north ...
(1967) * Whale Rock Dam (1960) *
Edmonston Pumping Plant Edmonston Pumping Plant is a pumping station near the south end of the California Aqueduct, which is the principal feature of the California State Water Project. It lifts water 1,926 feet (600 m) to cross the Tehachapi Mountains where it split ...
(1971) *
Silverwood Lake Silverwood Lake is a large reservoir in San Bernardino County, California, United States, located on the West Fork Mojave River, a tributary of the Mojave River in the San Bernardino Mountains. It was created in 1971 as part of the State Water Pr ...
*
Lake Perris Lake Perris is an artificial lake completed in 1973. It is the southern terminus of the California State Water Project, situated in a mountain-rimmed valley between Moreno Valley and Perris, in what is now the Lake Perris State Recreation Area. ...


Flood control projects

* Sutter Bypass * Tisdale Weir * Tisdale Bypass * Sacramento Weir *
Yolo Bypass The Yolo Bypass is one of the two flood bypasses in California's Sacramento Valley located in Yolo and Solano Counties. Through a system of weirs, the bypass diverts floodwaters from the Sacramento River away from the state's capital city of S ...


Recreation projects

* Antelope Dam (1964)


Mitigation/restoration projects

The following is a list of projects that the DWR oversees or contributes to that are designed to mitigate the impacts of the operation of the State Water Project. * Feather River Salmon and Steelhead Hatchery (1967) * Thermalito Afterbay (1968) * Yolo Bypass Wildlife Recreation Area * Suisun Marsh * Skinner Fish Facility * South Delta Improvements Progra

* South Delta Temporary Barriers Program


List of directors

This is a list of DWR directors.


See also

* * California Environmental Protection Agency, California Environmental Protection Agency (CAL EPA) * California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) *
Southern California Coastal Water Research Project The Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) is a research institute focusing on the coastal ecosystems of Southern California from watersheds to the ocean. SCCWRP was created as a joint powers authority (JPA), which is an agenc ...
*
United States Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...
*


References


External links


California Department of Water Resources official site

DWR South Delta Improvements Program

DWR publications
an
digitized DWR reports
on archive.org {{DEFAULTSORT:California Department Of Water Resources Water Resources Water Resources * California State Water Project Hydrology organizations State environmental protection agencies of the United States * Government agencies established in 1956 1956 establishments in California