One electrifying word brought thousands to California in hopes of striking it rich. They came by land in wagon trains, traversing thousands of miles of flatlands and mountains, or by ships that sailed around South America’s Cape Horn, a journey that took months.

Whether they found the precious metal or not, many newcomers chose to stay in California. Some of these settlers turned to farming the land and discovered the state’s enduring source of its wealth — its water. They began pumping groundwater aquifers to irrigate the land, turning desert areas into fertile fields that would eventually produce 11 percent of the world’s agricultural market, making California the leading food producer in the nation.

California’s healthy economy stems in part from its mild climate, fertile valleys, and long growing seasons but mainly from its ample water resources — its lakes, rivers, streams, creeks, and groundwater basins. Most water supplies are concentrated in its northern half, due to the State’s climate conditions and geography. The construction of water conveyance projects, such as the State Water Project, helped transport this water to areas in need, including the San Francisco Bay area, the San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California.

The state’s population of 33 million and its future growth, however, present new and more difficult challenges. DWR’s Bulletin 160-98 forecasts a 2020 population of 47 million people, who could face water shortages of 2.4 million acre-feet in average years and 6.2 maf in drought years. Many water agencies are already seeking new water supplies, implementing conservation measures, and researching alternative sources such as water reuse and groundwater recharge projects to meet future needs. They recognize that water is the key to California’s continued prosperity.

The timeline that follows features significant landmarks in California’s history of water development and important milestones for the State Water Project. Also included are key State and federal events and laws that have changed the way DWR and other water agencies use their supplies and operate and maintain their water systems.

In observation of the Sesquicentennial, the timeline begins shortly after the war with Mexico (1846 - 1848), which preceded the Gold Rush and helped assure California’s bid for statehood.

Type Style Key:

California Events
Water Development Events
State Water Project Events
National & International Events

1848- Gold is discovered at Sutter’s Mill. California population totals about 15,000.

1849-The Gold Rush begins. Prospectors build networks of ditches and flumes to carry water where it’s needed.
Levee construction begins in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The California Constitutional Convention meets and directs the Surveyor General to study irrigation,
drainage, and navigation.

1850- California admitted to the Union as the 31st state.
Its population reaches 100,000.
Routine meteorological records begin.

1853- Hydraulic mining starts. The debris it creates clogs river channels, creating floods of greater
magnitude. Hydraulic mining operations are shut down by a federal court decision in 1884.

1860- Reclamation of swamplands begins in the Sacramento Valley.
California ranks ninth in the nation’s wheat production.

1861- The Civil War breaks out.
Massive flooding inundates Sacramento Valley.

1865- Civil War ends.
California population reaches 400,000.

1869- First transcontinental railroad reaches the West, opening grain sales to the East Coast.

1870- Rudimentary drill rigs and pumps begin groundwater extraction.
The state’s irrigated acres total 60,000

1873- President Grant appoints the Alexander Commission to study irrigation and reclamation in the
Central Valley. In 1874 the commission’s report proposes a Central Valley storage and distribution system.

1878- Under the first State Engineer, William Hammond Hall, the state launches its first comprehensive
investigation into developing Central Valley water resources.

1880- Southern California begins its growth boom

1887- The Wright Act is adopted, a State law enabling citizens to create local irrigation districts.

1889- 1.1 million acres in California under irrigation

1902- California’s irrigated lands increase to 2.6 million acres.

1902- Congress passes the Reclamation Act, which limits the number of acres a beneficiary of the act can irrigate
with water from federal facilities to ensure a more equitable distribution of water. The U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation is created.

1908- Construction begins on the Los Angeles Aqueduct to bring water from the Owens Valley to Los Angeles.
Five years later, the first water deliveries flow into the San Fernando Valley.

1910- The Hetch Hetchy water project is approved by Bay area voters. It creates a dam and reservoir in the Sierra
near Yosemite Valley to provide a water supply for San Francisco. The project begins deliveries in 1934.

1914- World War I begins. America enters the war in 1917. WWI ends in 1918.

1919- Lt. Colonel Robert Marshall of the U.S. Geological Survey publishes a plan for transferring water from the
Sacramento River system to San Joaquin Valley and Southern California.

1927- East Bay Municipal Utility District begins building its first pipelines to tap the Mokelumne River.
Deliveries start in 1929. Two more pipelines are completed in 1949 and 1963.

1928- The California Legislature mandates, under the State’s constitution, that water will not be wasted but put to
reasonable and beneficial uses. The law sets the foundation for future water conservation regulations and
loan programs.
Boulder Canyon Project Act passes to build Hoover Dam on the Colorado River. It is constructed from
1932-35.
St. Francis Dam, part of William Mulholland’s water supply system for Los Angeles, collapses, killing at
least 400 people.

1929- Reacting to the St. Francis Dam disaster, State legislation creates a dam safety program which
provides for supervision over nonfederal dams. The law is extended to new and existing offstream
storage facilities after the 1963 failure of Baldwin Hills Dam.
Stock market crash sets the stage for the Great Depression era.
A cooperative effort by state, federal, and local agencies, along with utilities and water districts,
begins collecting snowpack data to forecast water supplies.

1930- State’s population reaches 5.5 million.

1931- The State Water Plan proposes a system of dams, reservoirs, pumping and power plants to
exchange water between the Central Valley’s northern and southern portions.

1932- A newly formed Metropolitan Water District of Southern California begins building the Colorado River
Aqueduct, completed in 1945.

1933- The State Legislature, and later voters, approves the Central Valley Project Act and a $170 million
bond. But because of depressed economic conditions, the State is unable to pay for its construction.

1936- The federal Flood Control Act of 1936 reflects a major policy transition to support the multi-use concept of
flood control.
The era of building dams as multipurpose structures begins.

1937- The federal government takes over the Central Valley Project as a public works project and begins building
the Central Valley Project. The CVP provides up to 4 million acre-feet of water per year, mainly to
agricultural water users in the Central Valley.

1938- Federal government begins work on Shasta Lake and Dam. The project is completed in 1945. A part of the
federal Central Valley Project, it is California’s largest reservoir.

1940- The All-American Canal is completed, bringing Colorado River water to Imperial and Coachella valleys in
Southern California.

1941- U.S. enters World War II.

1945- World War II ends. California’s economy booms; water demands increase for the State’s growing
industries, cities, and farms.

1948- Construction of Folsom Dam begins. As part of the federal Central Valley Project, it provides water
supply, recreation, and flood control. The lake is completed in 1956.

1950- Korean War begins, ending three years later.
California’s population increases to 10.5 million.
About 80,000 pumps increase groundwater extraction, mostly for farms. Irrigated acreage totals 6.5
million.

1951- Division of Water Resources (predecessor to DWR) publishes Bulletin 1, an inventory of
California’s water resources and water-related data. State Engineer A. D. Edmonston proposes the
Feather River Project which would include a multipurpose dam and reservoir on the Feather River
near Oroville, a power transmission system, and an aqueduct to convey water from the Delta to the
San Francisco Bay area, San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California.
CVP puts Delta-Mendota Canal and Tracy Pumping Plant in operation.

1955- DWR’s Bulletin 2 provides information on current water uses with forecasts of future needs.
A record flood hits Northern and Central California, killing 67 people. The State Legislature makes an
emergency appropriation of $25 million to begin work at Oroville.

1956- The State Legislature creates the California Department of Water Resources to oversee
development of the state’s water resources and the construction of the State Water Project.

1957- The first California Water Plan outlines preliminary plans for full development of the State’s water
resources to meet its ultimate water needs. It includes local development projects and a system to
transfer water from north to south. Work begins on the Oroville site.

1959- Governor Edmund G. “Pat” Brown advocates building the State Water Project. The Burns-Porter
Act is passed, authorizing $1.75 billion in bonds to construct the SWP.

1960- Voters approve the $1.75 billion bond act.
California’s population reaches 15.5 million. More than 8 million acres under irrigation.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California signs the first water supply contract with
the state for supplemental water supplies from the SWP. (Today 29 agencies have long-term
contracts for SWP deliveries.)
Congress authorizes construction of the San Luis Unit of the CVP. The unit also becomes part of
the SWP. Groundbreaking is held in 1962.
Davis-Grunsky Act is enacted as part of the State Water Project. It provides funds for local water
projects.

1961- Also part of the legislation affecting the State Water Project, the Davis-Dolwig Act is passed. It
directs the SWP to provide recreation and fish and wildlife enhancement and provides money from
the General Fund for such projects.
State and federal governments enter into an agreement to develop and construct the San Luis
Joint-Use Facilities.

1962- A partially completed South Bay Aqueduct starts service to Alameda County and to Santa Clara
County in 1965.

1963- Construction begins on San Luis Reservoir, which is completed in 1967 and filled in 1969. It is the
nation’s largest offstream reservoir.
Work begins on the California Aqueduct in the Delta.
California’s population surges ahead of New York State and makes it the nation’s most populous state.

1967- First SWP entitlement water delivered via the South Bay Aqueduct to Santa Clara Valley Water
District.
First salmon and steelhead enter Feather River Fish Hatchery.
Construction begins on the West Branch (completed in 1982) and on the East Branch (completed
in 1996).

1968- Oroville Dam and Lake Oroville are dedicated by Governor Ronald Reagan. The reservoir is filled
to its 3.5 million acre-feet capacity for the first time.
First SWP water deliveries are made to San Joaquin Valley contractors.
Phase 1 of the North Bay Aqueduct begins serving Napa County.
Skinner Fish Facility begins operation to salvage fish before they enter the pumps at Banks
Pumping Plant in the Delta.
National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act becomes law to keep designated rivers in their pristine natural
state.
California’s population reaches 20 million.

1969- Banks Pumping Plant is completed. Four pumps are added in 1986.

1970- California Environmental Quality Act and National Environmental Policy Act take effect,
requiring public agencies to prepare and submit for public review environmental documents for
major projects that could impact the environment.
California Endangered Species Act is enacted. It is amended in 1984 to more closely resemble the federal
act.

1972- Edmonston Pumping Plant is dedicated. This pumping plant has the world’s highest single lift of
water, nearly 2,000 feet up and over the Tehachapi Mountains.
First water deliveries begin to Southern California.
State’s Wild and Scenic Rivers Act is passed, prohibiting dams on many rivers, especially those along the
North Coast.
The federal Clean Water Act is passed. Section 404 of this act protects wetlands.

1973- The federal Endangered Species Act is passed to protect both species and their critical habitat.

1976- Start of a two-year drought. SWP delivers nearly 1.4 million acre-feet of water to contractors.

1977- Driest year of record. SWP deliveries drop to less than 600,000 acre-feet.

1978- The first water quality standards for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta are set by the State Water Resources
Control Board. Known as D1485, the standards extend to San Francisco Bay and hold the SWP and
federal CVP mainly responsible for meeting the standards.

1986- The Coordinated Operation Agreement is signed by State and federal governments for more
efficient water operations in the Delta.

1987- Six-year drought begins, ending in 1992.

1988- North Bay Aqueduct Phase II is completed, providing water to Napa and Solano counties.

1989- Winter-run chinook salmon is emergency listed as a threatened species under the federal
Endangered Species Act. It is reclassified as endangered in 1994.
The California act also lists the winter-run as endangered.

1991- Governor Pete Wilson creates a State Drought Water Bank, implementing a short-term water market to meet
critical water needs brought on by the serious drought. The water bank is established again in 1992 and
1994.

1992- Governor Wilson enunciates a comprehensive water policy.
The Central Valley Project Improvement Act is passed by Congress. The law requires that 800,000
acre-feet be dedicated for environmental use.

1993- Delta smelt declared a threatened species under the California Endangered Species Act.

1994- The Delta Accord is signed, establishing the State-federal CALFED program to investigate and propose a
long-term solution to problems in the Bay-Delta estuary.

1995- Widespread flooding affects most California counties.

1997- The Coastal Branch, Phase II, is dedicated and begins water deliveries to San Luis Obispo and
Santa Barbara counties.
Flood flows set new records and cause widespread damage and loss of lives along the Sacramento and San
Joaquin rivers. Losses reported in 48 of 58 counties. Damage estimates total $2 billion, including $300
million to the levee system. Eight people die; more than 100,000 evacuated.
Governor Wilson appoints a Flood Emergency Action Team to recommend measures to prevent future
floods.

1998- Preparation for El Niño pays off even though Southern California suffers much loss from storms and mud
slides. Flooding along the Pajaro River causes levee failures and evacuations. Many urban and small
stream floods damage roadways, businesses and homes in Central California. Numerous private levees in
the Suisun Marsh are breached.

1999- Construction begins on the East Branch Extension to expand service to the San Bernardino and
San Gorgonio Pass areas.
CALFED releases a draft environmental document which outlines its proposed long-term fix for the Bay-
Delta.
Spring-run chinook salmon and coastal chinook salmon listed as threatened under federal
Endangered Species Act and State ESA.

2000- CALFED’s final report is due. Initial efforts will focus on ecosystem restoration, alternative water management strategies such as water conservation, water reclamation, and groundwater recharge before new surface water projects are constructed.