News Release Archive

Reclamation's Central Valley Project Carries Over 8.2 Million Acre-Feet Into Water Year 2006

Media Contact: Jeffrey S. McCracken@mp.usbr.gov, 916-978-5100, 10/03/2005 22:23

For Release: October 03, 2005

The Federal Central Valley Project (CVP) carried over approximately 8.2 million acre-feet of water into Water Year (WY) 2006, approximately 2.5 million acre-feet more than last year.  The Bureau of Reclamation’s water year runs from October 1 to September 30.  The 15-year carry-over average is 6.6 million acre-feet.  Carry-over storage is the combined amount of water remaining at the end of the WY in Shasta, Trinity, Whiskeytown, Folsom, and New Melones Reservoirs, and the Federal share of the joint Federal/State San Luis Reservoir.

End of WY 2005 Storage (acre-feet)

Facility	Storage
Shasta	3,035,000
Whiskeytown	238,000
New Melones	1,933,000
Trinity	1,890,000
Folsom	652,000
Federal San Luis	403,000
Total	8,151,000

The total WY 2005 deliveries for the CVP are estimated at 6.3 million acre-feet.  Historically, the CVP supplies about 6 million acre-feet for agriculture, cities, and the environment.  Reservoir releases throughout the summer were made to meet downstream and fishery flow management objectives and project demands.

The Friant Division deliveries for WY 2005 were 1,850,000 acre-feet or 123 percent of the historic water supply of 1.5 million acre-feet.  Of the 1,850,000 acre-feet delivered in WY 2005, 800,000 acre-feet was Class 1 water supply, and the remaining 1,050,000 acre-feet was declared as Uncontrolled Season and Section 215 water supply.  The Uncontrolled Season and Section 215 water supply equates to 75 percent of the total Class 2 water supply.  The final allocation for Friant Division contractors was 100 percent of Class 1 and 0 percent of Class 2 water.  The precipitation total for the San Joaquin River watershed was 57.8 inches.

As WY 2006 gets underway, Reclamation will be monitoring and evaluating hydrologic conditions for the coming flood season.  All major reservoirs will meet the prescribed flood control objectives for the beginning of the 2005-2006 flood season.  The first official projection of available CVP water supplies for the coming water year will be made in early 2006.

CVP Comparison Table

Previous End-of-Year Storage In Millions of Acre-feet
2005	8.2
2004	5.7
2003	7.5
2002	6.4
2001	6.0
1977 (First Recorded)	1.3

 

During WY 2005, CVP powerplants generated about 4.3 billion kilowatt-hours, enough power to run 430,000 homes for a year.  Project‑use consumed about 25 percent of this energy.  The remaining energy was made available for marketing.  Mid‑Pacific Region generators have a combined capacity of approximately 2.1 million kilowatts.

For information on end-of-year storage or specific reservoirs, or for general information about Reclamation programs, please call the Public Affairs Office at 916-978-5100, TDD 916-978-5608.  You may also call Reclamation’s Grapevine at 1-800-742-9474 and enter 1 for a menu of CVP daily storage information.