Delta-Mendota Canal
Encyclopedia
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
in central California. It is part of the Central Valley Project
Central Valley Project
The Central Valley Project is a Bureau of Reclamation federal water project in the U.S. state of California. It was devised in 1933 in order to provide irrigation and municipal water to much of California's Central Valley—by regulating and storing water in reservoirs in the water-rich northern...
and its purpose is to replace the water in the San Joaquin River
San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River is the largest river of Central California in the United States. At over long, the river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through a rich agricultural region known as the San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean...
that is diverted into Madera Canal and Friant-Kern Canal at Friant Dam
Friant Dam
Friant Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the upper San Joaquin River in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Fresno County and Madera County near the town of Friant. The dam, completed in 1942, forms Millerton Lake and was built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which owns and operates the dam. The lake...
. The canal begins at the C.W. Bill Jones Pumping Plant (formerly the Tracy Pumping Plant), which pumps water 197 ft (60 m)from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The canal runs south along the western edge of the San Joaquin Valley
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
, parallel to the California Aqueduct
California Aqueduct
The Governor Edmund G. Brown California Aqueduct is a system of canals, tunnels, and pipelines that conveys water collected from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and valleys of Northern- and Central California to Southern California. The Department of Water Resources operates and maintains the...
for most of its journey, but it diverges to the east after passing San Luis Reservoir
San Luis Reservoir
The San Luis Reservoir is an off-stream artificial lake in the eastern slopes of the Diablo Range of Merced County, California, approximately west of Los Banos on State Route 152, which crosses Pacheco Pass and runs along its north shore. The reservoir stores water taken from the San...
, which receives some of its water. The water is pumped from the canal and into O'Neill Forebay
O'Neill Forebay
O'Neill Forebay is a forebay to the San Luis Reservoir created by the construction of O'Neill Dam across San Luis Creek approximately west of Los Banos, California, on the eastern slopes of the Pacific Coast Ranges of Merced County.-Background:...
, and then it is pumped into San Luis Reservoir by the Gianelli Pumping-Generating Plant. Occasionally, water from O'Neill Forebay is released into the canal. The Delta–Mendota Canal ends at Mendota Pool, on the San Joaquin River near the town of Mendota
Mendota, California
Mendota is a city in Fresno County, California, United States. The population was 11,014 at the 2010 census. The State Routes 180 and 33 run through the agricultural city. Mendota is located south-southeast of Firebaugh, at an elevation of 174 feet ....
, 30 mi (48.3 km) west of Fresno
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
. The Delta–Mendota Canal capacity is 4600 ft3/s and gradually decreases to 3211 ft3/s at its terminus.
The Delta–Mendota Canal was completed in 1951 and is operated by the United States Bureau of Reclamation
United States Bureau of Reclamation
The United States Bureau of Reclamation , and formerly the United States Reclamation Service , is an agency under the U.S...
and the San Luis Delta Mendota Water Authority, which is in charge of maintaining the quality of the water that is discharged from the south end of the canal. The canal passes through parts of Alameda, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, and Fresno counties.