PUB00109

• Year: 1995
• Title: Califormia Water
• CWCB Section: Interstate & Federal
• Author: Arthur L. Littlewort
• Description: History, overview, and explanation of water rights and legislation of California
• Publications - Doc Type: Historical

The CVP also s.tores San Joaquin River
water behind Friant Dam near Fresno and
t.urns that flow south instead of allowing it
to flow into the Delta; replUl:ement water
comes from Shasta.

Descriptions of the nine divisions of the
Central Valley Project.

Trinity River in Northern California

20 CALIFORNIA WATER

is used in the San Joaquin Valley to replace the San Joaquin River
water that is stored behind Friant Dam near Fresno. Thus, Sacra-
mento River water is hrought down to replace the San Joaquin River
water held in Millerton Lake and diverted farther south through the
Friant- Kern and Madera Canals. Trinity River water is used in part
to augment the Sacramento River diverted at Shasta.
The Central Valley Project is divided into nine divisions:
(1) Trinity River, (2) Shasta, (3) Sacramento River, (4) American
River, (5) Delta, (6) West San Joaquin, (7) Friant, (8) East Side, and
(9) San Felipe.29
The Trinity River Division was constructed to increase the
supply of water available for irrigation in the Central Valley. The
dominant feature of the Trinity River division is Claire Engle Lake,
which is formed by Trinity Dam and stores a maximum of 2,448,000
acre-feet of Trinity River water. This water is combined with water
from the Sacramento River to provide irrigation service to lands in
the Sacramento Valley and other areas of the Central Valley Project.
The Shasta Division includes Shasta Dam and Lake, located on
the Sacramento River, with its storage capacity of 4.5 million acre-
feet. In many ways it is the hub of the Central Valley Project, and its
uses include irrigation in the Sacramento Valley, navigation flows,
conservation of fish life in the Sacramento River, protection of the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta from intrusion of saline ocean water,
transfer of water to the Mendota Pool via the Delta-Mendota Canal
in exchange for San Joaquin River water diverted by Friant Dam,
and provision of water for municipal, industrial and irrigation nse in
Contra Costa County and other areas.
The Sacramento River division consists primarily of the
Sacramento Canal unit. This includes the Red Bluff diversion dam,
which diverts water from the Sacramento River to the Corning Canal
and Tehama-Colusa Canal service areas.
The primary feature of the American River Division is Folsom
Dam and Lake, which has a storage capacity of 1,010,000 acre-feet.
The Delta Division consists of four major facilities: (1) the Delta
Cross Channel, (2) the Contra Costa Canal, (3) the Tracy Pumping
Plant, and (4) the Delta-Mendota Canal. The Delta Cross Channel
moves water through the Delta to the Tracy Pumping Plant and the
Contra Costa Canal.
The Tracy Pumping Plant was constructed to lift surplus
Sacramento River water into the Delta-Mendota Canal for transmission

29 CVP-OCAP, pages iii-iv, 6-8.