The Project Operations Center

Staffed 24 hours a day, the Project Operations Center is the nerve center of the State Water Project. From its headquarters in Sacramento, the POC can, if necessary, remotely control all of the SWP’s major facilities. This includes power and pumping plants, reservoirs and lakes, and more than 660 miles of pipelines and canals, including the California Aqueduct.

During each 8-hour shift, three dispatchers monitor all water operations and power transactions. Their four main responsibilities are:

• To coordinate the activities of the five field divisions that maintain and operate SWP facilities within their respective geographic boundaries;

• To act as backup control for any of the field divisions when their computer systems are not working.

• To monitor and collect Project data for daily reports and operations.

• To buy or sell power supplies from the Power Exchange or through exchange agreements with other utilities and arrange for its transmission through the Independent Service Operator, created to oversee California’s power transmission system.

The project Operations Center located in Sacramento.