Delta Conveyance

Delta conveyance refers to State Water Project (SWP) infrastructure in the vast network of waterways comprising the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) that collects and moves high-quality, clean, safe and affordable water to homes, farms and businesses throughout major regions of the state from the Bay Area to Southern California. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) is the owner and operator of the SWP and is responsible for all associated upgrades and maintenance, including the proposed Delta Conveyance Project that will modernize this water transport infrastructure in the Delta.

View this Story Map for more information on several key aspects of the Delta Conveyance Project.

About the Project

The proposed Delta Conveyance Project would modernize the state’s water infrastructure in the Delta to help protect the reliability of this important water supply for 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland from earthquakes and climate-driven weather extremes. DWR has prepared new informational materials about the need for the proposed project related to the risks to State Water Project water supplies from climate change and seismic activity.

Significant progress has been made to date in moving this critical project forward and there are additional important milestones anticipated in 2026.

We are starting the new year by reflecting on how much has been accomplished and how this momentum will carry us into 2026 and beyond.

Looking Back

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has made considerable progress in completing complex state and federal planning and permitting processes, in addition to movement on the community engagement, design and engineering, and planning funding aspects of project development. Below are list of milestones to date:

A Stakeholder Engagement Committee (SEC) was established by the Delta Conveyance Design and Construction Authority (DCA) in September 2019 to provide a forum for input on the preliminary design of the proposed Delta Conveyance Project and optional concepts related to reducing possible construction-related localized Delta impacts and improving the effectiveness of mitigation. The SEC held a total of 19 meetings between 2019 and 2021.
The Participating Public Water Agencies voted twice to support continued project planning, permitting, design and engineering (2020 and 2024).
DWR completed the California Environmental Quality Act process, including certification of the Final Environmental Impact Report and project approval (2023).
The DCA prepared an updated cost estimate and associated benefit-cost analysis (2024).
DWR established an Accountability Action Plan to describe, memorialize, track, and fulfill the numerous commitments made to address effects within the local community during construction of the Delta Conveyance Project (2025).
DWR prepared a comprehensive Community Benefits Program, including publication of the final implementation plan and guidelines, and execution of community-specific agreements in principle with six local organizations (2025).
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife issued an Incidental Take Permit under Section 2081 of the California Endangered Species Act for the Delta Conveyance Project (2025).
DWR presented its Change in Point of Diversion petition case-in-chief to the State Water Board (2025).
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and State Historic Preservation Officer signed a Programmatic Agreement pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. DWR also signed this agreement as an invited signatory with defined roles and responsibilities for implementing the agreement (2025).
DWR submitted a Certification of Consistency with the Delta Plan for the Delta Conveyance Project (2025).
USACE published the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Assessment (EIS) (2025).

DWR has updated the comprehensive Progress Report for the Delta Conveyance Project to include all activities conducted and milestones reached in 2025.

Looking Ahead

2026 promises to be another eventful year with several significant milestones anticipated:

The Delta Stewardship Council will host a hearing on DWR’s Certification of Consistency in late February, with final determination completed by April 2026.
Biological Opinions from the National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on project construction are anticipated in early 2026.
Clean Water Act, Sections 401 and 404, and Rivers and Harbors Act, Section 14, are all anticipated to move forward in mid-2026.
The Change in Point of Diversion process will continue in 2026.

The DCA will complete a Basis of Design Report in late 2026.

Project Documents

The Department of Water Resources released the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed Delta Conveyance Project, advancing an essential piece of the state’s strategy to protect water access for millions of Californians. It was redesigned following public input and Governor Newsom’s pledge of rightsizing the project to one tunnel to better support both environmental and water supply needs.

By 2040, California is expected to lose 10% of its water supply due to hotter temperatures. During January’s atmospheric rivers, the Delta Conveyance Project could’ve captured enough water for 2.3 million peoples’ yearly usage. Until this year, the state faced its three driest years on record. Extreme weather whiplash will result in more intense swings between droughts and floods. California’s 60-year-old State Water Project infrastructure is not built for these climate effects.

Final EIR

The Final EIR was prepared by DWR as the lead agency to comply with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Final EIR is presented in two volumes: 1) the contents of the entire Draft EIR, as revised, and 2) all comments received on the Draft EIR and responses to substantive comments.

Final EIR Document

Operations Plan

As of August 23, 2024, DWR has transmitted to the State Water Resources Control Board an Operations Plan for the Delta Conveyance Project. The Operations Plan was prepared to assist the public in better understanding how the north Delta intakes will be operated.