The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has released its annual snapshot report on operation of the California State Water Project (SWP), the largest state-built water conveyance system in the U.S.
DWR released the latest two editions of the Bulletin 132 series that reports annual water deliveries, facilities maintenance, financial analysis, water quality monitoring, recreational opportunities, power resources, and other activities related to the SWP.
The SWP supplies water to more than 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland. It consists of 36 storage facilities, 26 dams, 21 pumping plants, five hydroelectric power plants, four pumping-generating plants, and over 700 miles of canals, tunnels and pipelines. SWP purposes include flood control, hydroelectric power generation, recreational opportunities, and fish and wildlife habitat enhancements. Lake Oroville is the largest storage facility in the SWP, providing water to 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland, while providing flood protection to downstream communities along with environmental and recreation benefits. Among the SWP generating plants is the 762 MW Hyatt Powerplant at the foot of Oroville Dam.
The annual publication covers activities for the previous year and financial data used to calculate charges for the subsequent year and is used for research and reference by the California Legislature, SWP contractors, utilities, bond investors and the public, DWR said. The bulletins give a detailed overview of more than 60 years of record about SWP operations that are used widely within DWR and externally for water supply planning, academic papers, news articles and DWR studies.
The latest editions of the bulletin cover actual calendar year 2019 and 2020 activities, as well as cost information for calendar year 2021 and 2022.
“The Bulletin 132 series allows our team to inform others about the many aspects of managing the SWP to ensure a reliable, safe, and cost-efficient water supply,” said Mohammed Musazay, Bulletin 132 project lead. “It allows DWR to provide a historical record of SWP operations that will help us plan for future operations.”
The report was created in 1963 by second DWR Director William Warne while initial SWP facilities were under construction. It now contains 14 chapters with more than 450 pages. The appendix was expanded with the addition of the SWP contractors’ statements of water charges.
The comprehensive report was produced thanks to the collaboration of more than 200 employees statewide in 15 DWR divisions.
