Water Operations

The Water Operations and Delta Consultations Branch conducts Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 7 consultations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and oversees the operations of the State Water Project (SWP) and Central Valley Project (CVP), which includes 5 reservoirs and 2 major water pumping plants in California’s Central Valley.  We also conduct consultations on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) projects within the jurisdictions of the Central Valley and Southern California.

Long-Term Operations of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project

In 2009, NOAA Fisheries issued a biological opinion to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation which concluded that the long-term operations of the CVP and SWP (including reservoir management and pumping operations) in California’s Central Valley were likely to jeopardize the continued existence winter and spring-run Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, the southern population of North American green sturgeon, and Southern Resident killer whales (which depend on Chinook salmon for food).  Branch staff work with partner resource agencies to oversee implementation of 72 reasonable and prudent alternative actions and real-time water operations in Clear Creek, Sacramento River, American River, Stanislaus River, and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Delta Consultations

Our branch conducts ESA section 7 consultations with Federal action agencies that propose projects in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, including construction (e.g., boat docks), dredging, habitat restoration, research, aquatic weed management, and the Temporary Barriers Project.