About the Central Valley Project (CVP)
The CVP Today
The CVP serves farms, homes, and industry in California's Central Valley as well as the major urban centers in the San Francisco Bay Area; it is also the primary source of water for much of California's wetlands.
In addition to delivering water for farms, homes, factories, and the environment, the CVP produces electric power and provides flood protection, navigation, recreation, and water quality benefits. While the facilities are spread out over hundreds of miles, the project is financially and operationally integrated as a single large water project.
The CVP:
- Reaches from the Cascade Mountains near Redding in
the north some 500 miles to the Tehachapi Mountains near Bakersfield
in the south.
- Is comprised of 20 dams and reservoirs, 11 powerplants, and 500 miles of major canal as well as conduits, tunnels, and related facilities.
- Annually delivers about 7 million acre-feet for agriculture, urban, and wildlife use.
- Provides about 5 million acre-feet for farms -- enough to irrigate about 3 million acres or approximately one-third of the agricultural land in California.
- Furnishes about 600,000 acre-feet for municipal and industrial use, enough to supply close to 1 million households with their water needs each year.
- Dedicates 800,000 acre-feet per year to fish and wildlife
and their habitat and 410,00 acre-feet to State and Federal wildlife
refuges and wetlands pursuant to the Central Valley Project Improvement
Act (CVPIA).
- Generates 5.6 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually to meet the needs of about 2 million people.
Main (916) 978-5100 | FAX (916) 978-5114 | TDD (916) 978-5608
Reclamation Officials' Telephone Numbers
Last update: September 25, 2008
