Central Valley Project: Issues and Legislation

The Central Valley Project (CVP), a federal water project owned and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), is one of the world’s largest water supply projects. The CVP covers approximately 400 miles in California, from Redding to Bakersfield, and draws from two large river basins: the Sacramento and the San Joaquin. It is composed of 20 dams and reservoirs and numerous pieces of water storage and conveyance infrastructure. In an average year, the CVP delivers more than 7 million acre-feet of water to support irrigated agriculture, municipalities, and fish and wildlife needs, among other purposes. About 75% of CVP water is used for agricultural irrigation, including 7 of California’s top 10 agricultural counties. The CVP is operated jointly with the State Water Project (SWP), which provides much of its water to municipal users in Southern California. CVP water is delivered to users that have contracts with Reclamation, which is part of the Department of the Interior (DOI). These contractors receive varying levels of priority for water deliveries based on several factors, including hydrology, water rights, prior agreements with Reclamation, and regulatory requirements. The Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers’ confluence with the San Francisco Bay (Bay-Delta or Delta) is a hub for CVP water deliveries; many CVP contractors south of the Delta receive water that is “exported” from north of the Delta. Development of the CVP resulted in significant changes to the area’s natural hydrology. However, construction of most CVP facilities predated major federal natural resources and environmental protection laws. Much of the current debate related to the CVP revolves around how to deal with changes to the hydrologic system that were not significantly mitigated when the project was constructed. Dry conditions sometimes lead to significant curtailments of contracted water supplies. Reclamation has been unable to provide any water supplies to a majority of CVP agricultural water contractors in 4 of the past 12 years (including 2021 and 2022), and in some dry years also has reduced water supplies for senior water rights holders. Wetter-than-normal hydrology since 2023 has improved the CVP’s short-term water supply outlook. Various state and federal proposals have been raised over time and have generated controversy for their potential to affect CVP operations and allocations. The first Trump Administration attempted to increase CVP water supplies for users and proposed changes to long-term operations of the CVP that were finalized in a 2020 record of decision (ROD). California and some environmental organizations opposed these efforts and filed lawsuits to prevent implementation of the changes. In May 2020, the federal district court temporarily prohibited Reclamation from implementing the operational changes. Under the Biden Administration, Reclamation revisited the Trump Administration analysis and implemented an interim operations plan for the CVP while the litigation was pending. In late 2024, the Biden Administration finalized changes to CVP operations in a new ROD. In August 2025, the Trump Administration asked the court to dismiss the litigation as moot. In December 2025, the plaintiffs requested, and the court granted, a voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit without prejudice. In January 2025, the Trump Administration issued an executive order directing DOI and other agencies to maximize water supplies for users of the CVP, among other things. In December 2025, the Trump Administration issued a new ROD modifying part of the alternative selected in the 2024 ROD. According to Reclamation, actions under the new ROD are expected to increase annual water deliveries to users from the CVP by between 130,000 and 180,000 acre-feet (AF) beyond the 2024 ROD and from the SWP by 120,000-220,000 AF, depending on hydrologic conditions and other assumptions. In March 2026, nongovernmental organizations sued Reclamation, alleging its operation of the CVP and adoption of the December 2025 ROD without reinitiating consultation violated the Endangered Species Act. Congress has engaged in CVP issues through oversight and legislation, including provisions enacted in the 2016 Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act; P.L. 114-322). Among other things, this act authorized changes to CVP operations that were intended to provide increased water supplies for agricultural and municipal contractors under certain circumstances. In the same legislation, Congress authorized funding for new water storage projects with the potential to benefit CVP operations. Some of these operational and construction-related provisions have expired and been proposed for reauthorization. Legislators may conduct oversight of CVP operations and may consider new and amended authorities that aim to bolster CVP water supplies.