Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir Project

The development of Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir continues the Project Partners’ legacy of stewarding a precious resource — WATER — for multiple benefits for the region.

Water challenges run deep in California and the Central Valley. Headwaters originate far from end users. Climate patterns swing from droughts to floods. Environmental pumping limits reduce deliveries. Needs often outstrip available water. Storage is lacking.

Surface water and groundwater are critical resources for farmers, communities and the environment. Recent laws and regulations have required local water managers to develop partnerships and new approaches for managing available supplies through floods and droughts. The Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir can help manage water to benefit the region.

The two locally-based public entities have joined together to develop and operate the Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir for surface water storage:

Del Puerto Water District

The Del Puerto Water District (DPWD), based in Patterson and spanning San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Merced counties, provides water to 45,000 acres of farmland adjacent to the Delta-Mendota Canal.

Exchange Contractors Water Authority

The San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority (Exchange Contractors) consists of four local water agencies – Central California Irrigation District, San Luis Canal Company, Firebaugh Canal Water District, and the Columbia Canal Company. These four agencies collectively serve 240,000 acres of farmland west of the San Joaquin River, from near Patterson in the north to Mendota in the south.

The development of Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir for surface water storage continues the project partners’ legacy of water stewardship for multiple benefits to the region. The partners have been collaborative leaders in addressing these challenges, supporting multiple projects to further irrigation efficiencies and groundwater storage. DPWD implemented the innovative North Valley Regional Recycled Water Program, making recycled water from the cities of Modesto and Turlock available for agriculture and south of Delta wildlife refuges . The Exchange Contractors are implementing a water conservation program to conserve more than 20,000 acre-feet of water each year, a portion of which is also made available to these same refuges.

In addition, the Exchange Contractors service area is adjacent to or surrounding the cities of Dos Palos, Firebaugh, and Mendota, which are severely disadvantaged communities, and Gustine, Los Banos, and Newman, which are disadvantaged communities. The Exchange Contractors have partnered with these cities to develop a joint Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) to provide sustainability into the future. Similarly, DPWD is collaborating with its neighbors in the surrounding communities to develop a multi-agency GSP, which is coordinated with that of the Exchange Contractors.

Today, groundwater can no longer be the backstop that it once was in the absence of adequate surface water. Storage in Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir will be an important tool for improving water supply conditions in the area.