Distribution of freshwater resources by type
114-546: 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 and municipal water to much of California's Central Valley —by regulating and storing water in reservoirs in the northern half of the state (once considered water-rich but suffering water-scarce conditions more than half
228-452: A basic drinking water service in 2017. Of those, 159 million people worldwide drink water directly from surface water sources, such as lakes and streams. One in eight people in the world do not have access to safe water. The world's supply of groundwater is steadily decreasing. Groundwater depletion (or overdrafting ) is occurring for example in Asia, South America and North America. It
342-479: A capacity of 4,552,000 acre⋅ft (5.615 km ) at full pool, the lake has an elevation of 1,067 ft (325 m), and a surface area of 30,000 acres (12,000 ha), making it the state's largest reservoir , and its third-largest body of water after Lake Tahoe and the Salton Sea . Ten miles (16 km) north of the city of Redding , with the town of Lakehead on its northern shore, Shasta Lake
456-764: A diversion point for a pair of canals, the Friant-Kern Canal and the Madera Canal . The Friant-Kern Canal sends water southwards through the Tulare Lake area to its terminus at Bakersfield on the Kern River , supplying irrigation water to Tulare , Fresno , and Kern counties. The Madera Canal takes water northwards to Madera County , emptying into the Chowchilla River . The Central Valley also consisted of 500 miles of canals, providing
570-426: A dynamic interface between surface water and groundwater from aquifers, exchanging flow between rivers and aquifers that may be fully charged or depleted. This is especially significant in karst areas where pot-holes and underground rivers are common. There are several artificial sources of fresh water. One is treated wastewater ( reclaimed water ). Another is atmospheric water generators . Desalinated seawater
684-649: A fish screen and pumping plant, thus allowing unimpaired passage through Red Bluff. Further upstream, Keswick and Shasta Dams form total barriers to fish migration. Even out of the Central Valley watershed, the CVP's diversion of water from the Trinity River from Lewiston Dam into Whiskeytown Lake has significantly hurt the Klamath River tributary's salmon run. Over three-quarters of the river's flow
798-618: A generating capacity of 140 MW. Lewiston Dam , downstream of Trinity Dam, diverts water into the Clear Creek Tunnel, which travels to empty into a third reservoir, Whiskeytown Lake on Clear Creek , a tributary of the Sacramento River, generating 154 MW of power in the process. Whiskeytown Lake (formed by Clair. A Hill Whiskeytown Dam) in turn provides water to the Spring Creek Tunnel, which travels into
912-654: A holistic way of managing water resources began already in the 1950s leading up to the 1977 United Nations Water Conference. The development of IWRM was particularly recommended in the final statement of the ministers at the International Conference on Water and the Environment in 1992, known as the Dublin Statement . This concept aims to promote changes in practices which are considered fundamental to improved water resource management . IWRM
1026-517: A pair of large dams on the Sacramento River north of the city of Redding . The Shasta Dam is the primary water storage and power generating facility of the CVP. It impounds the Sacramento River to form Shasta Lake , which can store over 4,500,000 acre-feet (5,600,000 dam) of water, and can generate 680 MW of power. Shasta Dam functions to regulate the flow of the Sacramento River so that downstream diversion dams and canals can capture
1140-696: A project". In response to these environmental problems, Congress passed in 1992 the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA), Title 34 of Public Law 102-575, to change water management practices in the CVP in order to lessen the ecological impact on the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers. Actions mandated included the release of more water to supply rivers and wetlands, funding for habitat restoration work (especially for anadromous fish spawning gravels), water temperature control, water conservation, fish passage, increasing
1254-605: A series of man-made channels, the Mokelumne River , and other natural sloughs, marshes and distributaries. From there, the water travels to the C.W. Bill Jones Pumping Plant , which raises water into the Delta-Mendota Canal , which in turn travels 117 miles (188 km) southwards to Mendota Pool on the San Joaquin River, supplying water to other CVP reservoirs about midway. A facility exists at
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#17327825715881368-459: A shortage of materials and workers during World War II . The raising of the dam would further regulate and store more Sacramento River water for dry periods, thus benefiting the entire operations of the CVP, and also generating additional power. However, the proposed height increase was fought over for many reasons. Raising the dam would cost several hundred million dollars and raise the price of irrigation water from Shasta Lake. It would drown most of
1482-419: A small discharge to each plant. Micro-irrigation uses less pressure and water flow than sprinkler irrigation. Drip irrigation delivers water directly to the root zone of plants. Subirrigation has been used in field crops in areas with high water tables for many years. It involves artificially raising the water table to moisten the soil below the root zone of plants. It is estimated that 22% of worldwide water
1596-432: A smaller raise of 6.5 ft (2.0 m) that would add 290,000 acre-feet (360,000 dam). Previously, a 200 ft (61 m) raise of the dam, increasing storage to 13,890,000 acre-feet (17,130,000 dam), was considered, but deemed uneconomical. When Shasta Dam was first built, it was actually planned to be two hundred feet higher than it is now, but Reclamation stopped construction at its present height because of
1710-450: Is pollution . Pollution includes discharged solutes and increased water temperature ( thermal pollution ). It is estimated that 8% of worldwide water use is for domestic purposes. These include drinking water , bathing , cooking , toilet flushing , cleaning, laundry and gardening . Basic domestic water requirements have been estimated by Peter Gleick at around 50 liters per person per day, excluding water for gardens. Drinking water
1824-437: Is water scarcity , water pollution , water conflict and climate change . Fresh water is in principle a renewable resource . However, the world's supply of groundwater is steadily decreasing. Groundwater depletion (or overdrafting ) is occurring for example in Asia, South America and North America. Natural sources of fresh water include surface water , under river flow, groundwater and frozen water . Surface water
1938-403: Is a comprehensive, participatory planning and implementation tool for managing and developing water resources in a way that balances social and economic needs, and that ensures the protection of ecosystems for future generations. In addition, in light of contributing the achievement of Sustainable Development goals (SDGs) , IWRM has been evolving into more sustainable approach as it considers
2052-420: Is a long-established practice. This is especially so in arid countries. Reusing wastewater as part of sustainable water management allows water to remain an alternative water source for human activities. This can reduce scarcity . It also eases pressures on groundwater and other natural water bodies. Desalination is a process that removes mineral components from saline water . More generally, desalination
2166-441: Is also employed to protect crops from frost , suppress weed growth in grain fields, and prevent soil consolidation . It is also used to cool livestock , reduce dust , dispose of sewage , and support mining operations. Drainage , which involves the removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given location, is often studied in conjunction with irrigation. There are several methods of irrigation that differ in how water
2280-413: Is also known as groundwater recharge . Reused water also serve various needs in residences such as toilet flushing , businesses, and industry. It is possible to treat wastewater to reach drinking water standards. Injecting reclaimed water into the water supply distribution system is known as direct potable reuse. Drinking reclaimed water is not typical. Reusing treated municipal wastewater for irrigation
2394-520: Is an important consideration. Some human water users have an intermittent need for water. For example, many farms require large quantities of water in the spring, and no water at all in the winter. Other users have a continuous need for water, such as a power plant that requires water for cooling. Over the long term the average rate of precipitation within a watershed is the upper bound for average consumption of natural surface water from that watershed. Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants)
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#17327825715882508-728: Is another important source. It is important to consider the economic and environmental side effects of these technologies. Water reclamation is the process of converting municipal wastewater or sewage and industrial wastewater into water that can be reused for a variety of purposes . It is also called wastewater reuse, water reuse or water recycling. There are many types of reuse. It is possible to reuse water in this way in cities or for irrigation in agriculture. Other types of reuse are environmental reuse, industrial reuse, and reuse for drinking water, whether planned or not. Reuse may include irrigation of gardens and agricultural fields or replenishing surface water and groundwater . This latter
2622-623: Is because the dams are too high and their reservoirs too large for fish to bypass via fish ladders . The San Joaquin River, however, had a different fate. Almost 60 mi (97 km) of the river is dry because of diversions from Friant Dam and Millerton Lake . Even downstream of Mendota, where the Delta-Mendota Canal gives the river a new surge of water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, irrigation runoff water, contaminated with pesticides and fertilizer , has caused
2736-446: Is called the water table . Groundwater is recharged from the surface; it may discharge from the surface naturally at springs and seeps , and can form oases or wetlands . Groundwater is also often withdrawn for agricultural , municipal , and industrial use by constructing and operating extraction wells . The study of the distribution and movement of groundwater is hydrogeology , also called groundwater hydrology . Throughout
2850-609: Is diverted through the Clear Creek Tunnel and away from the Trinity River, causing the river below the dam to become warm, silty, shallow and slow-flowing, attributes that hurt young salmon. Furthermore, the Trinity Dam forms a blockade that prevents salmon from reaching about 109 miles (175 km) of upriver spawning grounds. In the early years of the 21st century, the Bureau of Reclamation finally began to steadily increase
2964-469: Is ever-increasing demand for drinking , manufacturing , leisure and agriculture . Due to the small percentage of water available, optimizing the fresh water we have left from natural resources has been a growing challenge around the world. Much effort in water resource management is directed at optimizing the use of water and in minimizing the environmental impact of water use on the natural environment. The observation of water as an integral part of
3078-688: Is handled differently by different countries. For example, in the United States , the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and its partners monitor water resources, conduct research and inform the public about groundwater quality. Water resources in specific countries are described below: Shasta Lake Shasta Lake , also popularly known as Lake Shasta , is a reservoir in Shasta County, California , United States. It began to store water in 1944 due to
3192-663: Is intersected by the Delta-Mendota Canal , a separate CVP facility. Water is pumped from the canal into the Forebay and uphill into San Luis Reservoir, which functions as an additional water source during dry periods. Water released from San Luis and O'Neill reservoirs feeds into the San Luis Canal, the federally built section of the California Aqueduct , which carries both CVP and SWP water. The San Luis Canal terminates at Kettleman City , where it connects with
3306-670: Is located downstream of Nimbus Dam, to compensate for the two dams' destruction of American River spawning grounds. The Sly Park Unit includes Sly Park Dam , Jenkinson Lake, the Camp Creek Diversion Dam, and two diversion tunnels. The Sly Park Dam and its similarly-sized auxiliary dam form Jenkinson Lake, which covers 650 acres (260 ha). Jenkinson Lake feeds the Camino Conduit, a 5 mi (8.0 km) aqueduct . The Camp Creek Diversion Dam diverts some water from Camp Creek into Jenkinson Lake. The third unit
3420-564: Is located inside the Folsom Lake State Recreational Area . Eight additional earth fill saddle dams are required to keep the reservoir from overflowing. The dam also generates 200 MW from three generators. About 7 mi (11 km) downstream of Folsom Dam is the Nimbus Dam , forming Lake Natoma . The dam generates 7.7 MW from two Kaplan turbines on the north side of the river. The Nimbus Fish Hatchery
3534-609: Is low, and use the stored water to produce electricity when demand is high. Thermoelectric power plants using cooling towers have high consumption, nearly equal to their withdrawal, as most of the withdrawn water is evaporated as part of the cooling process. The withdrawal, however, is lower than in once-through cooling systems. Water is also used in many large scale industrial processes, such as thermoelectric power production, oil refining, fertilizer production and other chemical plant use, and natural gas extraction from shale rock . Discharge of untreated water from industrial uses
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3648-576: Is one of the few water resources independent of rainfall. Researchers proposed air capture over oceans which would "significantly increasing freshwater through the capture of humid air over oceans" to address present and, especially, future water scarcity/insecurity. A 2021 study proposed hypothetical portable solar-powered atmospheric water harvesting devices . However, such off-the-grid generation may sometimes "undermine efforts to develop permanent piped infrastructure " among other problems. The total quantity of water available at any given time
3762-499: Is popular for boating , water skiing , camping, house boating and fishing. Formed by the damming of the Sacramento River , the lake has 365 mi (587 km) of mostly steep mountainous shoreline covered with tall evergreen trees and manzanita . The maximum depth is 517 feet (158 m). The lake has four major arms, each created by an approaching river: the Sacramento River , the McCloud River , Sulanharas Creek , and
3876-572: Is released into rivers and wetlands in order to comply with state and federal ecological standards. Two large reservoirs, Shasta Lake and Trinity Lake , are formed by a pair of dams in the mountains north of the Sacramento Valley . Water from Shasta Lake flows into the Sacramento River which flows to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and water from Trinity Lake flows into the Trinity River which leads to
3990-423: Is still unclear how much natural renewal balances this usage, and whether ecosystems are threatened. Water resource management is the activity of planning, developing, distributing and managing the optimum use of water resources. It is an aspect of water cycle management . The field of water resources management will have to continue to adapt to the current and future issues facing the allocation of water. With
4104-419: Is supplied to plants. Surface irrigation , also known as gravity irrigation, is the oldest form of irrigation and has been in use for thousands of years. In sprinkler irrigation , water is piped to one or more central locations within the field and distributed by overhead high-pressure water devices. Micro-irrigation is a system that distributes water under low pressure through a piped network and applies it as
4218-593: Is the Auburn-Folsom South Unit , consisting of several dams on American River tributaries. These include Sugar Pine Dam and Pipeline (supplying water to Foresthill ), and the uncompleted Folsom South Canal. The primary component of the unit, concrete thin-arch Auburn Dam , was to be located on the North Fork of the American, but was never built because of the significant risk of earthquakes in
4332-432: Is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops , landscape plants , and lawns . Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been developed by many cultures around the world. Irrigation helps to grow crops, maintain landscapes, and revegetate disturbed soils in dry areas and during times of below-average rainfall. In addition to these uses, irrigation
4446-499: Is the removal of salts and minerals from a substance. One example is soil desalination . This is important for agriculture. It is possible to desalinate saltwater, especially sea water , to produce water for human consumption or irrigation. The by-product of the desalination process is brine . Many seagoing ships and submarines use desalination. Modern interest in desalination mostly focuses on cost-effective provision of fresh water for human use. Along with recycled wastewater , it
4560-443: Is to establish an inner, urban, water cycle loop through the implementation of reuse strategies. Developing this urban water cycle loop requires an understanding both of the natural, pre-development, water balance and the post-development water balance. Accounting for flows in the pre- and post-development systems is an important step toward limiting urban impacts on the natural water cycle. Water resource management and governance
4674-481: Is used in industry . Major industrial users include hydroelectric dams, thermoelectric power plants , which use water for cooling , ore and oil refineries , which use water in chemical processes , and manufacturing plants, which use water as a solvent . Water withdrawal can be very high for certain industries, but consumption is generally much lower than that of agriculture. Water is used in renewable power generation. Hydroelectric power derives energy from
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4788-510: Is water in a river, lake or fresh water wetland . Surface water is naturally replenished by precipitation and naturally lost through discharge to the oceans , evaporation , evapotranspiration and groundwater recharge . The only natural input to any surface water system is precipitation within its watershed . The total quantity of water in that system at any given time is also dependent on many other factors. These factors include storage capacity in lakes, wetlands and artificial reservoirs ,
4902-417: Is water that is of sufficiently high quality so that it can be consumed or used without risk of immediate or long term harm. Such water is commonly called potable water. In most developed countries, the water supplied to domestic, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard even though only a very small proportion is actually consumed or used in food preparation. 844 million people still lacked even
5016-647: The Delta was where limited irrigation for orchards first started. Following the arrival of the Transcontinental railroad , immigration from Asia and the rest of the U.S. led to growing numbers of settlers in the region. Despite the rich soils and favorable weather of the 42,000-square-mile (110,000 km) Central Valley, immigrants to the valley who were unfamiliar with its seasonal patterns of rainfall and flooding began to take up irrigation practices. Farmers soon found themselves troubled by frequent floods in
5130-459: The El Niño event of 1982–1983, which filled it to capacity within weeks and even forced Reclamation to open the emergency spillways, prompting the state and federal governments to repeal the limits they had imposed on the reservoir. Furthermore, the project allows a far smaller sustainable water yield than originally expected, and Reclamation calls the dam "a case study of all that can go wrong with
5244-619: The Pacific Ocean . Both lakes release water at controlled rates. There, before it can flow on to San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean , some of the water is intercepted by a diversion channel and transported to the Delta-Mendota Canal , which conveys water southwards through the San Joaquin Valley, supplying water to San Luis Reservoir (a SWP-shared facility) and the San Joaquin River at Mendota Pool in
5358-580: The Pit River . The Sacramento River's source is the Klamath Mountains . The McCloud River's source is Mount Shasta . The Pit River flows from Alturas , and the waterfall Potem Falls is located on that arm of the lake. Shasta Dam was constructed between 1935 and 1945 across the Sacramento River , and Shasta Lake was formed in 1948. The Pit River , McCloud River , and several smaller tributaries had their lower courses and confluences with
5472-400: The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta faced problems in dry summer and autumn months when the inflowing water was low. In order to continue to sustain the valley's economy, there needed to be systems to regulate flows in the rivers and equally distribute water among the north and south parts of the valley. In 1873, Barton S. Alexander completed a report for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that
5586-551: The Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta . It is a large receding geological floodplain moderated by its Mediterranean climate of dry summers and wet winters that includes regular major drought cycles . At the time of its construction, the project was at the center of a political and cultural battle over the state's future. It intersected with the state's ongoing war over land use, access to water rights, impacts on indigenous communities, large vs. small farmers,
5700-666: The San Joaquin River —which has far less average flow than the Sacramento—in order to divert its water to southern Central Valley aqueducts. The Friant Dam , completed in 1942, is the largest component of the Friant Division of the CVP. The dam crosses the San Joaquin River where it spills out of the Sierra Nevada, forming Millerton Lake , which provides water storage for San Joaquin Valley irrigators as well as providing
5814-699: The Whiskeytown–Shasta–Trinity National Recreation Area , operated by the Shasta-Trinity National Forest . The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has developed a safe eating advisory for fish caught in the lake based on levels of mercury or PCBs found in local species. The Shasta-Keswick Reservoir system is significantly contaminated with heavy metals, primarily due to contributions from four streams. Three of these streams contain acid mine drainage, with Spring Creek being
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#17327825715885928-607: The ecosystem is based on integrated water resources management , based on the 1992 Dublin Principles (see below). Sustainable water management requires a holistic approach based on the principles of Integrated Water Resource Management , originally articulated in 1992 at the Dublin (January) and Rio (July) conferences. The four Dublin Principles, promulgated in the Dublin Statement are: Implementation of these principles has guided reform of national water management law around
6042-416: The semi-arid desert environment of the San Joaquin Valley into productive farmland. Freshwater stored in Sacramento River reservoirs and released downriver during dry periods prevents salt water from intruding into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta during high tide . There are eight divisions of the project and ten corresponding units, many of which operate in conjunction, while others are independent of
6156-402: The sustainability of the current and future water resource allocation. Sustainable Development Goal 6 has a target related to water resources management: "Target 6.5: By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate." At present, only about 0.08 percent of all the world's fresh water is accessible. And there
6270-414: The Central Valley into the breadbasket of the U.S. Following the 1848 California Gold Rush , large numbers of U.S. citizens came into the region and made attempts to practice rainfed agriculture , but most of the Central Valley land was taken up by large cattle ranchers like Henry Miller who eventually controlled 22,000 square miles of land. The large-scale levee construction by Chinese workers along
6384-885: The Coast Ranges. San Justo Dam stores water diverted from San Luis Reservoir through the Pacheco Tunnel and Hollister Conduit, which travel through the Diablo Range . A separate canal, the Santa Clara Tunnel and Conduit, carries water to the Santa Clara Valley. Once, profuse runs of anadromous fish — salmon , steelhead , and others—migrated up the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers to spawn in great numbers. The construction of CVP dams on
6498-491: The Nexus approach, which is a cross-sectoral water resource management. The Nexus approach is based on the recognition that "water, energy and food are closely linked through global and local water, carbon and energy cycles or chains." An IWRM approach aims at avoiding a fragmented approach of water resources management by considering the following aspects: Enabling environment, roles of Institutions, management Instruments. Some of
6612-487: The Sacramento River into the 110-mile (180 km) Tehama-Colusa Canal, the 21-mile (34 km) Corning Canal and a small reservoir formed by Funks Dam. Six pump plants take water from the canal and feed it to the Colusa County water distribution grid. Water diversions from northern rivers in the state remain controversial due to environmental damage. Trinity River Division is the second largest CVP department for
6726-626: The Sacramento River submerged by the reservoir. Also beneath the lake is the submerged town of Kennett and many village sites of the Wintun people together with their traditional fishing, hunting, and gathering locations. Parts of the defunct tunnels and right of way of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company can be seen when the water level is low. Shasta Lake hosted the first "Boardstock" event in 1996, which continued there annually through 1999, after which
6840-476: The Sacramento Valley and a general lack of water in the San Joaquin Valley. The Sacramento River , which drains the northern part, receives between 60 and 75% of the precipitation in the Valley, despite the Sacramento Valley covering less area than the much larger San Joaquin Valley, drained by the San Joaquin River , which receives only about 25% of the rainfall. Furthermore, cities drawing water from
6954-619: The Sacramento Valley in 2017, according to a report sent to the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). This is the second lowest number of returning adult winter run salmon since modern counting techniques were implemented in 2003. By comparison, over 117,000 winter Chinooks returned to spawn in 1969. The CVP stores about 13 million acre-feet (16 km) of water in 20 reservoirs in
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#17327825715887068-687: The Spanish colonial model of Catholic missions and ranchos (1772–1846) was then followed by the current United States era. Due to its Mediterranean climate , the first cultural period was hunter-gatherer based. The Spanish missions' ranching and tanning business was based on the forced labor of Las Californias tribes. Spain's model of land use with the grazing of livestock for meat, wool and leather started along Alta California 's coast eventually spreading inland. The U.S. era evolved from primarily ranching to large-scale plantations or more commonly known today as corporate farming that turned
7182-420: The annual event moved to Clear Lake, California , 170 miles southwest of Shasta Lake. Boardstock drew many professional wakeboard riders from around the world, with an average attendance of 15,000 people. The event lasted for 3 days each year with several wakeboard contests being performed. There are a number of marinas on Shasta Lake offering a variety of services, including houseboat rentals. Shasta Lake has
7296-616: The area, and general public opposition to the project. However, the high Foresthill Bridge , built as part of the preliminary work for Auburn Dam, still stands. County Line Dam, about 10 miles (16 km) south of Folsom Dam, was also never built. One of the most important parts of the CVP's San Joaquin Valley water system is the series of aqueducts and pumping plants that take water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and send it southwards to supply farms and cities. The Delta Cross Channel intercepts Sacramento River water as it travels westwards towards Suisun Bay and diverts it south through
7410-450: The bottom of the lake from reaching the river, especially in dry years when the surface of the lake is closer to the crest of the old dam. This results in the river below the dam attaining a much higher temperature than usual, hurting native fish and wildlife. To solve this problem, Reclamation shuts off operations of the dam's hydroelectric power plant when water levels are drastically low, but this results in power shortages. Originally, after
7524-512: The city dwellers and power sales from the generation of electricity pay of the project costs. On the Stanislaus River , a major tributary of the San Joaquin, lies the relatively independent East Side Division and New Melones Unit of the CVP. The sole component of the division/unit is New Melones Dam , forming New Melones Lake , which, when filled to capacity, holds nearly 2,400,000 acre-feet (3,000,000 dam) of water, about equal to
7638-401: The competing demands for water and seeks to allocate water on an equitable basis to satisfy all uses and demands. As with other resource management , this is rarely possible in practice so decision-makers must prioritise issues of sustainability, equity and factor optimisation (in that order!) to achieve acceptable outcomes. One of the biggest concerns for water-based resources in the future is
7752-411: The course of a river, the total volume of water transported downstream will often be a combination of the visible free water flow together with a substantial contribution flowing through rocks and sediments that underlie the river and its floodplain called the hyporheic zone . For many rivers in large valleys, this unseen component of flow may greatly exceed the visible flow. The hyporheic zone often forms
7866-440: The cross-cutting conditions that are also important to consider when implementing IWRM are: Political will and commitment, capacity development, adequate investment, financial stability and sustainable cost recovery, monitoring and evaluation. There is not one correct administrative model. The art of IWRM lies in selecting, adjusting and applying the right mix of these tools for a given situation. IWRM practices depend on context; at
7980-599: The dam was constructed, the State of California put filling the reservoir on hold because of enormous public opposition to what was being inundated: the limestone canyon behind the dam, the deepest of its kind in the United States, contained hundreds of archaeological and historic sites and one of California's best and most popular whitewater rafting runs. Thus the reservoir extended only to Parrot's Ferry Bridge, 9 mi (14 km) below its maximum upriver limit, until
8094-631: The dwindling fish populations of Northern and Central California rivers. In 2017 the Klamath and Trinity rivers witnessed the worst fall run Chinook salmon return in recorded history, leading to a disaster declaration in California and Oregon due to the loss of the commercial fisheries. The recreational fall Chinook salmon fishery in both the ocean and the Trinity and Klamath rivers was also closed in 2017. Only 1,123 adult winter Chinook salmon returned to
8208-635: The entrance of the pump plant in order to catch fish that would otherwise end up in the Delta-Mendota Canal. A second canal, the Contra Costa Canal , captures freshwater near the central part of the delta, taking it 48 miles (77 km) southwards, distributing water to the Clayton and Ygnacio Canals in the process, and supplying water to Contra Loma Dam, eventually terminating at Martinez Reservoir. The CVP also has several dams on
8322-490: The federal California State Water Project (SWP). San Luis Dam (or B.F. Sisk Dam) is the largest storage facility, holding 2,000,000 acre-feet (2,500,000 dam) of water. Although called an offstream storage reservoir by USBR, the reservoir floods part of the San Luis Creek valley. San Luis Creek, however, is not the primary water source for the reservoir. Downstream of San Luis Reservoir is O'Neill Forebay , which
8436-731: The flow of the river more efficiently, and to prevent flooding in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta where many water pump facilities for San Joaquin Valley aqueducts are located. The Keswick Dam functions as an afterbay (regulating reservoir) for the Shasta Dam, also generating power. The Sacramento Canals Division of the CVP takes water from the Sacramento River much farther downstream of the Shasta and Keswick Dams. Diversion dams , pumping plants, and aqueducts provide municipal water supply as well as irrigation of about 100,000 acres (4,000,000 dam). The Red Bluff Diversion Dam diverts part of
8550-561: The foothills of the Sierra Nevada , the Klamath Mountains and the California Coast Ranges , and passes about 7.4 million acre-feet (9.1 km) of water annually through its canals. Of the water transported, about 5 million acre-feet (6.2 km) goes to irrigate 3,000,000 acres (1,200,000 ha) of farmland, 600,000 acre-feet (0.74 km) supplies municipal uses, and 800,000 acre-feet (0.99 km)
8664-583: The force of water flowing downhill, driving a turbine connected to a generator. This hydroelectricity is a low-cost, non-polluting, renewable energy source. Significantly, hydroelectric power can also be used for load following unlike most renewable energy sources which are intermittent . Ultimately, the energy in a hydroelectric power plant is supplied by the sun. Heat from the sun evaporates water, which condenses as rain in higher altitudes and flows downhill. Pumped-storage hydroelectric plants also exist, which use grid electricity to pump water uphill when demand
8778-475: The greatest area of glaciers and permafrost outside of the poles. Ten of Asia's largest rivers flow from there, and more than a billion people's livelihoods depend on them. To complicate matters, temperatures there are rising more rapidly than the global average. In Nepal, the temperature has risen by 0.6 degrees Celsius over the last decade, whereas globally, the Earth has warmed approximately 0.7 degrees Celsius over
8892-489: The growing uncertainties of global climate change and the long-term impacts of past management actions, this decision-making will be even more difficult. It is likely that ongoing climate change will lead to situations that have not been encountered. As a result, alternative management strategies, including participatory approaches and adaptive capacity are increasingly being used to strengthen water decision-making. Ideally, water resource management planning has regard to all
9006-442: The implementation of IWRM at a global level. The third World Water Forum recommended IWRM and discussed information sharing, stakeholder participation, and gender and class dynamics. Operationally, IWRM approaches involve applying knowledge from various disciplines as well as the insights from diverse stakeholders to devise and implement efficient, equitable and sustainable solutions to water and development problems. As such, IWRM
9120-542: The impounding of the Sacramento River by Shasta Dam , the ninth tallest dam in the United States. Shasta Lake is a key facility of the Central Valley Project and provides flood control for the Sacramento Valley downstream of the dam. Water outflow generates power through the Shasta Powerplant and is subsequently used for irrigation and municipal purposes. The reservoir lies within
9234-474: The last hundred years. Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth 's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations . About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock become completely saturated with water
9348-434: The late 1930s, and the last facilities were completed in the early 1970s. Other features of the project were never constructed, some lie partly finished, or are still awaiting authorization. Dec 2 - USBR regulations stipulate that water only be given out to farmers with 160 acres of land or less - see 4-7-1944 1951 Jan 3 - CVP and state agree to keep grasslands flooded to protect migratory birds Shasta Division consists of
9462-586: The lowermost extreme of Spring Creek, a stream that flows into Keswick Reservoir, generating another 180 MW of electricity. From there the water from the Trinity River empties into Keswick Reservoir and the Sacramento River. In 1963, the Spring Creek Debris Dam was constructed just upstream of the outlet of the Spring Creek Tunnel, to prevent acid mine drainage from the Iron Mountain Mine from continuing downstream and contaminating
9576-420: The most notable contributor. This drainage releases high concentrations of zinc, cadmium, and copper into the water. At the points where these acid streams mix with lake water, localized toxicity occurs, posing an immediate threat to aquatic life. The synergistic effects of these metals further exacerbate the environmental impact, leading to concerns about the safety of consuming fish from this water source. With
9690-403: The northern Sacramento Valley. The primary purpose of the division is to divert water from the Trinity River into the Sacramento River drainage downstream of Shasta Dam in order to provide more flow in the Sacramento River and generating peaking power in the process. Trinity Dam forms Trinity Lake , the second largest CVP water-storage reservoir, with just over half the capacity of Shasta and
9804-475: The operation of the dam. The "...legislation required that enough be left in the Trinity for in-basin needs, including preservation of the salmon fishery." In the early years of the 21st century, the Bureau of Reclamation studied the feasibility of raising Shasta Dam. One of the proposed heights was 18.5 feet (5.6 m) greater than its current size, thus increasing the storage capacity of Shasta Lake by 636,000 acre-feet (784,000 dam). The agency also proposed
9918-411: The operational level, the challenge is to translate the agreed principles into concrete action. Integrated urban water management (IUWM) is the practice of managing freshwater , wastewater , and storm water as components of a basin-wide management plan. It builds on existing water supply and sanitation considerations within an urban settlement by incorporating urban water management within
10032-438: The permeability of the soil beneath these storage bodies, the runoff characteristics of the land in the watershed, the timing of the precipitation and local evaporation rates. All of these factors also affect the proportions of water loss. Humans often increase storage capacity by constructing reservoirs and decrease it by draining wetlands. Humans often increase runoff quantities and velocities by paving areas and channelizing
10146-559: The problems associated with the CVP with programs like the Refuge Water Supply Program . In recent years, a combination of drought and regulatory decisions passed based on the Endangered Species Act of 1973 have forced Reclamation to turn off much of the water for the west side of the San Joaquin Valley in order to protect the fragile ecosystem in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and keep alive
10260-538: The process, eventually reaching canals that irrigates farms in the valley. Friant Dam crosses the San Joaquin River upstream of Mendota Pool, diverting its water southwards into canals that travel into the Tulare Lake area of the San Joaquin Valley, as far south as the Kern River . Finally, New Melones Lake , a separate facility, stores water flow of a San Joaquin River tributary for use during dry periods. Other smaller, independent facilities exist to provide water to local irrigation districts. The Central Valley Project
10374-549: The project. Unfortunately, because of insufficient money in the state's treasury and the coincidence with the Great Depression , California turned to the national government for funding to build the project. This resulted in several transfers of the project between California and the federal government, and between Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers. The first dams and canals of the project started going up in
10488-540: The remaining land belonging to the Winnemem Wintu tribe—90 percent of whose land already lies beneath the surface of the lake—and flood several miles of the McCloud River , protected under National Wild and Scenic River status. Buildings, bridges, roads and other structures would have to be relocated. The added capacity of the reservoir would change flow fluctuations in the lower Sacramento River, and native fish populations, especially salmon, would suffer with
10602-672: The rest of the network. California agriculture and related industries now directly account for 7% of the gross state product for which the CVP supplied water for about half. Many CVP operations have had considerable environmental consequences, including a decline in the salmon population of four major California rivers in the northern state, and the reduction of riparian zones and wetlands . Many historical sites and Native American tribal lands have been flooded by CVP reservoirs. In addition, runoff from intensive irrigation has polluted rivers and groundwater . The Central Valley Project Improvement Act , passed in 1992, intends to alleviate some of
10716-679: The rest of the system. The dams also are an important flood control measure. Hydroelectricity is generated at Folsom and Nimbus dams, and marketed to the Western Area Power Administration . The Folsom Unit consists of Folsom Dam , its primary water storage component, and Nimbus Dam , which serves as its downstream forebay. The Folsom Dam is located on the American River, and stores 1,010,000 acre-feet (1,250,000 dam) of water in its reservoir, Folsom Lake . Folsom Lake covers 11,550 acres (4,670 ha) and
10830-506: The resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems ". Some scholars say that IWRM is complementary to water security because water security is a goal or destination, whilst IWRM is the process necessary to achieve that goal. IWRM is a paradigm that emerged at international conferences in the late 1900s and early 2000s, although participatory water management institutions have existed for centuries. Discussions on
10944-720: The river to become heavily polluted. To make matters worse, efforts by the California Department of Fish and Game to route the San Joaquin salmon run into the Merced River in the 1950s failed, because the salmon did not recognize the Merced as their "home stream". Not only on the San Joaquin River have CVP facilities wreaked environmental havoc. On the Sacramento River, Red Bluff Diversion Dam in Tehama County , while not as large or as impacting as Friant Dam,
11058-683: The river. The American River Division is located in north-central California, on the east side of the Great Central Valley. Its structures use the water of the American River , which drains off the Sierra Nevada and flows into the Sacramento River . The division is further divided into three units: the Folsom, Sly Park and Auburn-Folsom South. The American River Division stores water in the American River watershed, to both provide water supply for local settlements, and supply it to
11172-442: The scope of the entire river basin. IUWM is commonly seen as a strategy for achieving the goals of Water Sensitive Urban Design . IUWM seeks to change the impact of urban development on the natural water cycle , based on the premise that by managing the urban water cycle as a whole; a more efficient use of resources can be achieved providing not only economic benefits but also improved social and environmental outcomes. One approach
11286-569: The service area of the CVP's canals, and other items. Despite the preservation of river programs, the state legislature continued to have the power to construct dams. Water management Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. These resources can be either freshwater from natural sources, or water produced artificially from other sources, such as from reclaimed water ( wastewater ) or desalinated water ( seawater ). 97% of
11400-427: The state's irrigation districts and public vs. private power. Its proponents ignored environmental concerns over its impacts, other than the outcome not damage the major stakeholders at that time. The Central Valley of California has gone through two distinct culturally driven land use eras. The first was the indigenous tribal period that lasted for thousands of years. Then came the arrival of Europeans, first by
11514-611: The state-built section of the California Aqueduct. With a capacity of 13,100 cubic feet per second (370 m/s), it is one of the largest irrigation canals in the United States. The Coalinga or Pleasant Valley Canal branches off the San Luis Canal towards the Coalinga area. A pair of separate dams, Los Baños Detention Dam and Little Panoche Detention Dam, provide flood control in the Los Baños area. The San Luis Drain
11628-588: The storage capacity of Trinity Lake. The dam functions to store water during dry periods and release it downstream into the northern San Joaquin Valley according to water demand. The dam generates 279 MW of power with a peaking capacity of 300 MW. The CVP has a significant amount of facilities for storing and transporting water on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, in the foothills of the California Coast Ranges . The West San Joaquin Division and San Luis Unit consist of several major facilities that are shared with
11742-510: The stream flow. Natural surface water can be augmented by importing surface water from another watershed through a canal or pipeline . Brazil is estimated to have the largest supply of fresh water in the world, followed by Russia and Canada . Glacier runoff is considered to be surface water. The Himalayas, which are often called "The Roof of the World", contain some of the most extensive and rough high altitude areas on Earth as well as
11856-443: The subsequent changes to the ecology of the river. New Melones Dam has come under even greater controversy than Shasta Dam, mainly because of the project's conflicts with federal and state limits and its impact on the watershed of the Stanislaus River . The original Melones Dam, submerged underneath New Melones Lake (hence the name New Melones Dam ) is the source of one of these problems. The disused Melones Dam blocks cold water at
11970-458: The two rivers and many of their major tributaries—namely Friant Dam and Shasta Dam —mostly ended the once-bountiful Central Valley salmon run. From north to south, the Sacramento upriver of Shasta Dam, the American upriver of Folsom Dam, the Stanislaus upriver of New Melones Dam, and the San Joaquin upriver of Mendota —have become inaccessible to migrating salmon. In three of these cases, it
12084-418: The water flow downstream from Lewiston Dam. While providing less water for the CVP altogether, the new flow regime allows operations to meet the line drawn by Reclamation itself in 1952 stating that at least 48% of the river's natural flow must be left untouched in order for Trinity River salmon to survive. The lack of flow in the Trinity up to then was also a violation of the authorization that Congress made over
12198-548: The water on Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water ; slightly over two-thirds of this is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps . The remaining unfrozen freshwater is found mainly as groundwater, with only a small fraction present above ground or in the air. Natural sources of fresh water include surface water , under river flow, groundwater and frozen water . People use water resources for agricultural , industrial and household activities. Water resources are under threat from multiple issues. There
12312-578: The world since 1992. Further challenges to sustainable and equitable water resources management include the fact that many water bodies are shared across boundaries which may be international (see water conflict ) or intra-national (see Murray-Darling basin ). Integrated water resources management (IWRM) has been defined by the Global Water Partnership (GWP) as "a process which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources, in order to maximize
12426-806: The year in most years), and transporting it to the water-poor San Joaquin Valley and its surroundings by means of a series of canals, aqueducts and pump plants, some shared with the California State Water Project (SWP). Many CVP water users are represented by the Central Valley Project Water Association. In addition to water storage and regulation, the system has a hydroelectric capacity of over 2,000 megawatts , and provides recreation and flood control with its twenty dams and reservoirs. It has allowed major cities to grow along Valley rivers which previously would flood each spring, and transformed
12540-488: Was a separate project by USBR in an attempt to keep contaminated irrigation drainage water out of the San Joaquin River, emptying into Kesterson Reservoir where the water would evaporate or seep into the ground. Because of environmental concerns, the system was never completed. The CVP also operates a San Felipe Division to supply water to 63,500 acres (25,700 ha) of land in the Santa Clara Valley west of
12654-715: Was a topic of the second World Water Forum , which was attended by a more varied group of stakeholders than the preceding conferences and contributed to the creation of the GWP. In the International Water Association definition, IWRM rests upon three principles that together act as the overall framework: In 2002, the development of IWRM was discussed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg, which aimed to encourage
12768-455: Was once a barrier to the migration of anadromous fish. The original fish passage facilities of the dam continually experienced problems from the beginning of operation in 1966, and introduced species that prey on young smolt often gather at the base of the dam, which reduced the population of outmigrating juvenile salmon into the Pacific. The Red Bluff Diversion Dam has since been replaced with
12882-604: Was the first attempt at creating a Central Valley Project. In 1904, the Bureau of Reclamation (then the Reclamation Service) first became interested in creating such a water project, but did not get far involved until a series of droughts and related disasters occurred in the early 1920s. The State of California passed the Central Valley Project Act in 1933, which authorized Reclamation to sell revenue bonds in order to raise about $ 170 million for
12996-549: Was the world's largest water and power project when undertaken during Franklin D. Roosevelt 's New Deal public works agenda. The Project was the culmination of eighty years of political fighting over the state's most important natural resource - Water . The Central Valley of California lies to the west of the Sierra Nevada Mountains with its annual run-off draining into the Pacific Ocean through
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