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TABLE OF CONTENTS SPECIAL EDITION / 2000Prologue by Director Thomas M. Hannigan The Past California started as a virgin land, populated mainly by native Indians and Spanish missions. But the Gold Rush in 1849 changed the quiet frontier and focused attention on the significance of water in the State’s development. The rush of people, industries, and agriculture soon pushed regional supplies to their limits, and a state water project was sought to solve the problem. However, decades would pass before such a system was conceived and approved. The Present Today’s State Water Project is highlighted with its benefits, the contracting agencies that paid for its construction and pay for its operations and maintenance, its financing, and recent events that changed how the system’s water supply is allocated and how operations have changed. This section also explains how environmental regulations have changed construction of additional facilities and how the Department is dealing with an aging system. The Future What does the year 2000 and beyond hold for the SWP? The question is partly answered by different water management strategies used by SWP’s contracting agencies to meet increasing water demands from their communities. Another part of the answer lies in events that will determine what will be done to help solve California’s water problems for all users. |
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