Wednesday February 5, 2025
California Department of Water Resources —
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) is taking advantage of February storms and increased flexibility in new operating permits for the State Water Project to move more stormwater now for use when dry conditions return.
Starting late Monday, the State Water Project increased pumping levels in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta from 1,800 cubic feet per second to around 3,000 cubic feet per second in order to move additional storm runoff into storage at San Luis Reservoir. It’s anticipated that this action will capture an additional 16,000 acre-feet of storm water in the reservoir for use later this summer.
The pumping increase is made possible in part by the “storm flex” provisions in the State Water Project’s 2024 federal and state endangered species act permits, which allow for additional diversion of water supply when certain ecological conditions are met during storms. It’s an example of how the new permits foster adaptive management based on real-time conditions to improve water supply availability for millions of Californians and agriculture while still protecting endangered fish species.
Taking advantage of the storm conditions and the “storm flex” provisions also meets Governor Newsom’s January 31 direction to DWR, which operates the State Water Project, to maximize diversion of excess flows to boost the state’s water storage in Northern California, including storage in San Luis Reservoir south of the Delta.