California State Water Project

California State Water Project

The California State Water Project, commonly known as the SWP, is the world's largest publicly built and operated water and power development and conveyance system. The SWP was designed and is operated by the California Department of Water Resources. The original purpose of the project was to provide water for arid Southern California which lacks adequate local water resources to provide for the growth the region has experienced. Today, the SWP provides drinking water for over 23 million people and generates an average 6.5 million MWh of hydroelectricity annually. However, as the largest single consumer of power in the state, its net usage is 5.1 million MWh. [ [http://www.publicaffairs.water.ca.gov/swp/swptoday.cfm The SWP today] ]

Construction began in the late 1950s, with major funding approved in a 1960 bond measure. The vote on the bond split along North-South lines, as Northern Californians opposed the measure as a boondoggle and an attempt to steal their water resources. Most of the water (roughly 80%) carried by the project is used for agriculture, primarily in the San Joaquin Valley, since pumping the water over the Tehachapi Mountains is costly and Southern California has other sources of water such as the Owens River, tributary creeks to Mono Lake and the Colorado River.

Primary features of the project include Oroville Dam, San Luis Reservoir, and the California Aqueduct. In dry years, water pumped from the Sacramento River Delta creates a hazard to spring-run salmon, as the currents that the salmon spawn normally follow to the Pacific Ocean go to the pumps instead. This and other water use and environmental problems led to the creation of the CALFED Bay-Delta Program or CALFED in 1994.

In May 1972, Reader's Digest published a story about the SWP, claiming that it is one of the only two manmade objects visible from space (the other being the Great Wall of China).

List of SWP facilities

*Antelope Dam on Indian Creek in Plumas County, California
*Lake Palmdale on the California Aqueduct in Los Angeles County, California
*Oroville Dam on the Feather River in Butte County, California

External links

* [http://www.publicaffairs.water.ca.gov/swp/ California Department of Water Resources State Water Project overview]
* [http://calwater.ca.gov/ CALFED]
* [http://www.valleywater.org/Water/Where_Your_Water_Comes_From/Imported_Water/State_Water_Project.shtm State Water Project - Santa Clara Valley]

References

*"Cadillac Desert", Marc Reisner, (1993) ISBN 0-14-017824-4


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • California State Water Project — Das California State Water Project, allgemein bekannt unter dem Namen SWP, ist das weltweit größte öffentlich gebaute und noch intakte Wasser und Energieentwicklungs und Beförderungssystem. Das SWP wird vom California Department of Water… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • California State Police — The California State Police was a security police agency founded in 1887 which served to protect the State Capitol Building, the Governor and other state agencies located throughout the state. They provided police services to all state agencies… …   Wikipedia

  • List of California state agencies — This List of State of California agencies, departments, and commissions is a list of the more than 500 California state government agencies, departments, and commissions.*California Academic Performance Index (API) *California Access for Infants… …   Wikipedia

  • California State Route 78 — State Route 78 State Route 78 highlighted in red …   Wikipedia

  • California State University, Long Beach — Motto Vox Veritas Vita (Latin) Motto in English Voice, Truth, Life Established 1949 …   Wikipedia

  • California State University, Northridge — Established 1958 Type Public university Endowment $48.9 million …   Wikipedia

  • California State University, East Bay — Coordinates: 37°39′25″N 122°03′28″W / 37.65694°N 122.05778°W / 37.65694; 122.05778 …   Wikipedia

  • California State Polytechnic University, Pomona — This article is about the university in Pomona, California. For the university in San Luis Obispo, California, see California Polytechnic State University. For the liberal arts college in Claremont, California, see Pomona College. California… …   Wikipedia

  • California State Route 241 — Infobox road state=CA type=SR route=241 alternate name=Foothill Toll Road, length mi=23 length round=3 length ref= established= 1993 direction a=South terminus a=Oso Parkway in Rancho Santa Margarita junction=jct|state=CA|SR|133 in Irvine… …   Wikipedia

  • California State University, Monterey Bay — Infobox University name = California State University, Monterey Bay motto = established = 1994 type = Public president = Dianne F. Harrison city = Seaside state = California country = USA undergrad = 4080 postgrad = 140 faculty = 334 campus =… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”