The proposed Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir would be located in Del Puerto Canyon in the Coast Range foothills west of Patterson and south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, just west of I-5.
Del Puerto Water District (DPWD) and the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority (Exchange Contractors) supply Central Valley Project (CVP) water to highly productive farmlands in Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Merced, Fresno, and Madera counties. CVP water is pumped south from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) through the Delta-Mendota Canal. For more than two decades, droughts and pumping restrictions imposed to protect fish habitat and water quality have caused shortages and volatility in water deliveries exported from the Delta. As a result, regional economic stability has been impacted and the environment compromised.
DPWD and the Exchange Contractors are partnering to construct and operate the Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir. The project will deliver water from the Delta-Mendota Canal into the new reservoir, where it will be stored and released on a carefully managed basis. The reservoir would allow water to be delivered into storage during wetter periods until it is needed in drier periods for irrigation, groundwater recharge, or wildlife beneficial uses.
Agricultural users of the stored water will pay for the project, and are actively seeking supplemental state and federal funding.
