Wednesday May 14, 2025
Public Policy Institute of California —
An accident of history has left California with two massive, overlapping water projects: the federally operated Central Valley Project (CVP) and the State Water Project (SWP) operated by the California Department of Water Resources. Maintaining and operating two projects that serve the same purpose is inefficient. Moreover, the projects are often beset by controversy and conflict when state and federal administrations change.
California set out to build the CVP in the late 1920s but could not finance it due to the Great Depression. The federal government stepped in and began construction of the CVP in 1935 with Shasta Dam—which created the state’s largest reservoir—as its anchor. In 1960, state voters passed the Water Resources Development Act, which funded construction of the SWP. This project included Oroville Dam, which created its capstone reservoir, and the California Aqueduct, which provides water to southern California.
These projects fulfill the same objectives: water supply for farms and cities, hydropower generation, and flood risk reduction. They serve customers from Redding to San Diego, including the Bay Area and the Central Valley. State and federal law requires the two projects to coordinate their efforts, and at times they cooperate successfully. But CVP and SWP often find themselves at odds, especially when federal policies revise (and sometimes reset) the rules governing coordinated operations and endangered species protection. These kinds of changes have been issued by the past seven federal administrations, headed by both Democratic and Republican presidents.