Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Water Issues

last updated 4 Apr 2025

Delta uses:
Wildlife Habitat Filtering water There are a number of current issues with the Delta. The reduction of natural flows through the Delta have, scientists say, increased its salinity and otherwise made it unable to adequately support salmon and other wildlife.

Too Little Water too many uses:
Californians use 200-300 gallons per person per day
Aird Countries like Australia, Israel, Spain... use20-40 gallons per person per day.

By many accounts The San Joaquin Valley is the most productive agricultural region in the world, cultivating more than 250 crops over 8.4 million acres. They require water.

Key initiatives:
Central Valley Project
State water Project
Dams:
Shasta
Oroville
Folsom

See Over Troubled Waters Video
Restore the Delta

Key initiatives: Central Valley Project State water Project

Multiple Governors have spent a significant amount of effort on the Delta:

Edmund G. "Pat" Brown (1959-1967)
Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown (1975-1983)
Arnold Schwarzenegger (2003-2011)
Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown (2011-2019)
Gavin Newsom (2019-Present)

For the better part of a decade, two governors, Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom, have promoted the concept of “voluntary agreements” to reduce diversions, hoping to avoid a head-on political and legal collision.

Links:
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Atlas | pdf cawaterlibrary.net
California Water Library
Dams
What’s at the heart of California’s water wars? Delta outflow explained | CalMatters