Charles V. Stern, Pervaze A. Sheikh and Erin H. Ward provide this updated (12 December 2022) CRS report: Central Valley Project: Issues and Legislation'.
This report is frequently updated. I won't be reproducing much from the report. There is a lot of material. Click on the graphics to enlarge them.
Download CRS_Report_CVP_Issues_Legislation_12Dec2022
Summary
The Central Valley Project (CVP), a federal water project owned and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), is one of the world’s largest water supply projects. The CVP covers approximately 400 miles in California, from Redding to Bakersfield, and draws from two large river basins: the Sacramento and the San Joaquin. It is composed of 20 dams and reservoirs and numerous pieces of water storage and conveyance infrastructure. In an average year, the CVP delivers more than 7 million acre-feet of water to support irrigated agriculture, municipalities, and fish and wildlife needs, among other purposes. About 75% of CVP water is used for agricultural irrigation, including 7 of California’s top 10 agricultural counties. The CVP is operated jointly with the State Water Project (SWP), which provides much of its water to municipal users in Southern California.CVP water is delivered to users that have contracts with Reclamation, which is part of the Department of the Interior. These contractors receive varying levels of priority for water deliveries based on several factors, including hydrology, water rights, prior agreements with Reclamation, and regulatory requirements. The Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers’ confluence with the San Francisco Bay (Bay-Delta or Delta) is a hub for CVP water deliveries; many CVP contractors south of the Delta receive water that is “exported” from north of the Delta.
Development of the CVP resulted in significant changes to the area’s natural hydrology. However, construction of most CVP facilities predated major federal natural resources and environmental protection laws. Much of the current debate related to the CVP revolves around how to deal with changes to the hydrologic system that were not significantly mitigated when the project was constructed. Dry conditions—including a prolonged drought from 2012 to 2016 and the current drought, which dates to 2020—have led to curtailment of contracted water supplies. Reclamation has been unable to provide any water supplies to most CVP agricultural water service contractors in 4 of the past 11 years (including 2021 and 2022) and has cut supplies for some senior water rights holders during this time.
Various state and federal proposals are currently under consideration and have generated controversy for their potential to affect CVP operations and allocations. In late 2018, the State of California finalized revisions to its Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan that would require more flows from the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers to reach the Bay-Delta for water quality and fish and wildlife enhancement (i.e., reduced water supplies for other users). Voluntary agreements that might replace some or all of these requirements are being negotiated but have not been finalized. The Trump Administration attempted to increase CVP water supplies for users and proposed changes to long-term operations of the CVP in 2019. Those changes were finalized in a record of decision in 2020 after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued a no jeopardy biological opinion after consultation required by the Endangered Species Act (ESA, 16 U.S.C. §§1531-1544). California and some environmental organizations opposed these efforts and filed lawsuits to prevent implementation of the changes. The court issued a preliminary injunction on May 11, 2020, temporarily prohibiting Reclamation from implementing the operational changes. Under the Biden Administration, Reclamation is implementing an interim operations plan for the CVP while the litigation is pending and has requested reinitiation of consultation with FWS and NMFS to assess the effects of proposed changes to CVP operations.
Congress has engaged in CVP issues through oversight and legislation, most recently in the form of provisions enacted under the 2016 Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act; P.L. 114-322). Among other things, this act authorized changes to CVP operations that were intended to provide increased water supplies for agricultural and municipal contractors under certain circumstances (most of these provisions have since expired). In the same legislation, Congress authorized funding for new water storage projects that are expected to benefit CVP operations. Legislators may consider bills and conduct oversight on efforts to increase CVP water exports compared with current baselines. Some in Congress have also weighed in on disagreements between state and federal project operators and the status of coordinated operations of the CVP and SWP. Congress is also considering whether to approve funding for new water storage projects and may consider legislation to extend or amend the aforementioned CVP authorities.
Introduction
The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), part of the Department of the Interior (DOI), operates the multipurpose federal Central Valley Project (CVP) in California, one of the world’s largest water storage and conveyance systems. The CVP runs approximately 400 miles in California, from Redding to Bakersfield (Figure 1). It supplies water to hundreds of thousands of acres of irrigated agriculture throughout the state, including some of the most valuable cropland in the country. It also provides water to selected state and federal wildlife refuges, as well as to some municipal and industrial (M&I) water users. The CVP’s operations are coordinated with the state’s other largest water supply project, the state-operated State Water Project (SWP).
This report provides information on hydrologic conditions in California and their impact on state and federal water management, with a focus on deliveries related to the federal CVP. It also summarizes selected issues for Congress related to the CVP.
Recent Developments
California’s water supplies are highly variable, with extended drought often followed by extremely wet years. The drought of 2012-2016, widely considered to be among California’s most severe droughts in recent history, resulted in major reductions to CVP contractor allocations and economic and environmental impacts throughout the state. These impacts were of interest to Congress, which oversees federal operation of the CVP. Although the wet winter of 2017 temporarily alleviated those conditions, October 2019 through September 2022 was the driest three water year period on record since 1977, and resulted in renewed water delivery curtailments and attention on California’s constrained water supplies. Most expect water users to once again face constrained water supplies in water year 2023 as a result of the ongoing drought. In addition to the likelihood of another year of dry hydrology in the short-term, many also point to longer-term trends of reduced water availability, which reduce runoff and carryover supplies from one year to the next, and increase reliance on limited groundwater reserves. How to deal with both short and long-term drought in the context of the CVP are among the issues confronting policymakers.For more information on drought in general, see CRS Report R46911, Drought in the United States: Science, Policy.
Due to the limited available water supplies, proposed changes to current water operations and allocations associated with the CVP are controversial. Because of the relative scarcity of water in the West and the importance of federal water infrastructure to the region, western water issues are regularly of interest to many lawmakers. Legislation enacted in the 114th Congress (Title II of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation [WIIN] Act; P.L. 114-322) included several CVP-related sections. These provisions directed pumping to “maximize” water supplies for the CVP (including pumping or “exports” to CVP water users south of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers’ confluence with the San Francisco Bay, known as the Bay-Delta or Delta) in accordance with applicable biological opinions (BiOps) for project operations. They alsoallowed for increased pumping during certain storm events generating high flows, authorized actions to facilitate water transfers, and established a new standard for measuring the effects of water operations on species. In addition to operational provisions, the WIIN Act authorized funding for construction of new federal and nonfederal water storage projects. CVP projects are among the most likely recipients of this funding.
Due to increased precipitation and disagreements with the state, among other factors, the WIIN Act’s operational authorities generally did not yield significant new water exports south of the Delta in 2017-2020. Reclamation received funding for WIIN Act-authorized water storage project design and construction in FY2017-FY2021, and the majority of this funding has gone to CVP-related projects.
State and federal plans under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA), respectively, would alter water allocation and operational criteria in markedly different ways and have generated controversy. In mid-2018, the State of California proposed revisions to its Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan (developed pursuant to the CWA [33 U.S.C. §§1251-138]). These changes, which have yet to be implemented, would require that more flows from the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers reach the California Bay-Delta for water quality and fish and wildlife enhancement (and would thus further reduce water supplies for CVP and SWP users). Actions pursuant to voluntary agreements with the state could alter and/or replace some of these requirements. Separately, in February 2020, the Trump Administration finalized an associated operations plan to increase water supplies for South-of-Delta CVP users after issuing a new biological opinion (BiOp) under the ESA (16 U.S.C. §§1531-1544). The BiOp was challenged in court, and the operational changes have not been implemented. The Biden Administration reviewed and revised the plan, and on September 30, 2021, Reclamation requested reinitiation of consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under Section 7 of the ESA. In the meantime, Reclamation and California implemented an interim operations plan for CVP and SWP operations during the 2022 water year. Reclamation has proposed that this plan—which some oppose—be extended through December 2023 (i.e., through the 2023 water year).
Concluding Observations
The CVP is one of the largest, most complex water storage and conveyance projects in the world. Congress has regularly expressed interest in CVP operations and allocations, in particular pumping in the Bay-Delta. In addition to ongoing oversight of project operations and previously enacted authorities, a number of developing issues and proposals related to the CVP may be of interest to congressional decisionmakers. These issues include study and approval of new water storage and conveyance projects, updates to the state’s Bay-Delta Water Quality Plan, and the status of efforts to make available more water for CVP water contractors, in particular those south of the Delta. Continued drought or other stressors on California water supplies are likely to magnify these issues.
Enjoy!
This is truly a wicked water problem.
"The greatest scholars are not usually the wisest people" - Geoffrey Chaucer
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