THE STATE WATER PROJECT

You thought the CVP was large

State Owned and Controlled

No Bureau requirementsHalf a million newcomers per yearWest side of San Joaquin Valley needs water

Some Farms224,000 Kern Land90,000 Standard Oil25,000 Buena Vista25,000 Belridge Oil23,000 Tidewater Oil17,000 General Petroleum

15,000 Shell Oil

14,000 Occidental12,000 Richfield Oil11,000 Southern Pacific15,000 Southern Pacific Land10,000 Allison Honer Co39,000 Times Mirror

Issues

Ground water depletionPumping costsLand subsidenceRunoff pollution of aquifersSalinization“Waste” = 40%Population Growth

Feather River Plan

Last “Wild” riverFlood control750 mile aqueduct!Water to Bay areaWater to San Joaquin ValleyWater to Southern CA

Three Rules

Detailed studies 1951 Department of Water Resources

100,000 square mile flood Water Resources Bonds

$1.5 billion Plus oilfield royalties

Total $2.5 billion

Issues for State Vote

San Joaquin Valley in favor160 acre limit – lost in supreme courtNorth did not want to ship southNorth, floods, development and saltwater

not enoughCounty of Origin - South

What if we build it and it does not come?

Not as long as bonds are outstanding

Negotiations and Conflict

North basically votes noSouth approves

MWD carried the day

The Results: Power

All power plus twice the amount needed for pumps

Net electricity deficitNo net revenue

1983, Revenues become positive

Kern County: Large Farms

Bakersfield, city dwellers, pay for systemSurcharge for large farms – reduced to zero by ReaganCapacity or volume?

Middle ground subsidizes farmsFarms only pay transportation and not capital costs for surplus: $13 vs $43

new farmlandLarge, subsidized, farms could underprice small farms

2013

Today, the Project includes 34 storage facilities, reservoirs and lakes; 20 pumping plants; 4 pumping-generating plants; 5 hydroelectric power plants; and about 701 miles of open canals and pipelines.

The Project provides supplemental water to approximately 25 million Californians and about 750,000 acres of irrigated farmland.

The Delta

As a water distribution system, the Delta not only serves the State and federal projects but also many agricultural and municipal water diverters surrounding and within the Delta itself. Delta water from the State Water Project serves both urban and agricultural areas in the Bay area, the Silicon Valley, the San Joaquin Valley, the Central Coast, and Southern California.