California-Great Basin

New Melones

East Park Reservoir Restocking Effort

River Bend Habitat Project

Northern lights over Shasta Dam. Photo by Instagram @m.starkdust

Featured Programs

• 2025 Central Valley Project Water Operations Timeline
• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA): Environmental Documents

Stories and Media

• The California-Great Basin

  We've spent more than 120 years managing water in the West. Learn more about the California-Great Basin region, home to one of the largest and most complex water storage and delivery systems in the world.

• Shasta Story Map Chapter 3 Released

  The Shasta Story Map chapter 3 is a comprehensive and detailed presentation that looks at the incorporation of climate change conditions into the new plan for long-term operation of the Central Valley Project and the efforts to protect winter-run Chinook salmon. It’s compelling reading for anyone interested in California water.

• Reclamation selects Ed Young as Deputy Regional Director of Business Services

  The Bureau of Reclamation today announced Ed Young as the new deputy regional director of business services for the California-Great Basin Region. Young will oversee five divisions: financial management, information management, program and budget, acquisition services, and office of communications. Read More >  

• Reclamation and Partner Agencies Reestablish the Fishery at East Park Reservoir 

  Two years ago, Reclamation and partners seized an opportunity to conduct dam repairs at East Park Reservoir during the worst drought in California's history. Taking advantage of the low water levels, the dam was modernized and a plan to create a new fishery in the reservoir was hatched. Today, the East Park fishery is back and thriving! View Flickr Album or Read More >   

• Reclamation and partners celebrate completion of critical water supply infrastructure for San Joaquin Valley

  The Bureau of Reclamation, Friant Water Authority, and California Department of Water Resources celebrated completion of Phase 1 of the Friant-Kern Canal Middle Reach Capacity Correction Project. The project will restore capacity to 33 miles of the existing Friant-Kern Canal damaged from subsidence... View Flickr Album or Read More >  

• President’s Investing in America Agenda Delivers More Than $142 Million to Bolster Resilience to Drought and Boost Water Supplies

  Acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior Laura Daniel-Davis announced a $142 million investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to advance drought resilience and boost water supplies across the country, as part of the Investing in America agenda. View Flickr Album or Read More >   

• Truckee Canal Revitalization Project Completes Phase 1 Construction

  Construction of the Truckee Canal Public Safety Improvement Project Phase 1 is complete and the canal, which provides water to the Truckee Division, is fully operational. The 31-mile-long canal provides water for more than 50,000 acres of farmland, wildlife, and communities in western Nevada. Read More >  

• CGB Regional Director, Commissioner, DOI and Partners Highlight Solar Over Canals Project

  The Department of the Interior announced a $19 million investment from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to install solar panels over irrigation canals in California, Oregon and Utah, simultaneously decreasing evaporation of critical water supplies and advancing clean energy goals. View Flickr Album or Read more>

• Reclamation funding helps heal a river scarred by Gold Rush legacy

  A degraded stretch of the Yuba River in Northern California is now a haven for migrating fish thanks to a major restoration project supported by Central Valley Project Improvement Act funding. Read More →

• Why all the noise?! We're celebrating the completion of the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area Water Supply Project!

  Reclamation & partners recently celebrated the completion of the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area Water Supply Improvement Project to provide reliable water supplies for Pacific Flyway wetlands & Sac Valley farms.

  Read the full story in the dynamic Arc GIS #StoryMap: Read More →

• Just Released - Reclamation’s Shasta StoryMap series continues with comprehensive analysis of water project modeling, alternatives

  

  Reclamation is updating operating rules for the long-term operation of the Central Valley Project. An in-depth modeling exercise was performed to help develop alternatives for consideration. Check out an overview of the process using the dynamic ArcGis StoryMap format. Link to Chapter 2

• B.F. Sisk Dam Raise and Reservoir Expansion gets the green light

  

  Federal, state, and local leaders gathered at San Luis Reservoir Friday, Oct. 20 for a signing ceremony launching the first major reservoir expansion in California in more than a decade. Read More →

• Reaping the benefits of a wet winter

  Central Valley Project contractors accessed hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of floodwater provided by Reclamation in 2023, recharging groundwater basins that are a critical part of California’s water supply. Read More →

• Operating Shasta in a New Climate

  (Unmute for sound)
  Reclamation and partners are working on a new, long-term operation plan for Shasta to better fit today's environment. Check out the dynamic StoryMap below outlining the challenges facing Shasta Dam & Reservoir as it emerges from the latest drought.

• Link to StoryMap → Operating Shasta in a New Climate

  Shasta Reservoir is the centerpiece of the Central Valley Project - a major infrastructure component with effects reaching far beyond its confines in the upper Sacramento Valley. Read More →

• California-Great Basin Region 2022 Year in Review

  This year's annual report is presented in the dynamic ArcGIS Storymap format, which shares a lively and captivating tour through several milestone events and achievements of 2022. Enjoy! Read More →

• 2023 Reclamation Construction and Geology Workshop

  Representatives from across Reclamation attended the 2023 Construction and Geology Workshop at B.F. Sisk Dam and San Luis Reservoir in the California-Great Basin Region March 7-9.

• Making the Friant-Kern Canal Whole Again

  When a key section of a 72-year-old, 152-mile canal no longer functions optimally, solving the problem requires ingenuity, skill, and know-how. Learn More →

• Curious about flood operations at Folsom Dam during the January storm events? Learn more here:

• Modifying A River Channel To Boost Salmon Productivity

  Along the banks of the Sacramento River near Redding, the ancestral home of Chinook salmon, a major project is making the waters more hospitable for the juvenile fish... Learn More →