CALFED Bay-Delta Program

The CALFED Bay-Delta Program is a unique coalition between local, state, and federal agencies and other stakeholders to develop a long-term plan to restore the health of the San
Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta estuary ecosystem; improve water supply and water quality; and improve levee stability. A successful Bay-Delta resolution is essential to address California’s water problems and to maintain the public welfare and the economic viability of the state and the world.

In an average year, more than half of the water used in Santa Clara County is imported from the Bay-Delta through three major water projects: the State Water Project, the Federal Central Valley Project, and San Francisco’s Hetch Hetchy Project. In average to wet years, these projects supply enough water to meet the county’s long-term needs; however, in dry years, the county could face an annual shortage of as much as 100,000 acre-feet, or about 20 percent of projected demands. Aside from climatic variations, the long-term decline of important fisheries in the Bay-Delta system has led to regulatory restrictions imposed on water projects and supply reductions.

In addition to water supply uncertainties, the quality of Bay-Delta water is also a concern. Recent epidemiological studies indicated that organic materials and pollutants discharged into the Bay-Delta, together with salt water from San Francisco Bay, have the potential to create disinfection-by-products that may be carcinogenic or present reproductive health concerns.

Furthermore, protecting watershed source quality and reducing pollutants introduced into Bay-Delta and South Bay waters is critical for overall water quality. Systems supplying Bay-Delta water are also vulnerable to catastrophic failures such as major
earthquakes and flooding. As demonstrated by January 1997 floods in the Central Valley, levee systems do fail, resulting in the degradation of Bay-Delta water quality to the extent that
water projects cannot pump from the delta.

For more information about CALFED, check the program's Web site.

For information about the Santa Clara Valley Water District's participation in CALFED, contact Amy Fowler, at (408) 265-2607, ext. 2064.