Water Storage Investment Program (WSIP)

Proposition 1 of 2014 dedicated $2.7 billion for investments in water storage projects. The California Water Commission is administering the Water Storage Investment Program (WSIP) to fund the public benefits associated with these projects. Some WSIP projects will require a water right permit and/or change petition. This page provides information on WSIP projects that have indicated a water right action is needed and for projects that have already filed for water right actions with the State Water Board.

For more information on WSIP and WSIP projects, please visit the California Water Commission. Information on each project seeking WSIP funding is available from the California Water Commission. Additional project information is also provided by the project proponents and is listed below under each project.

For additional information on other water rights processes, please visit our water rights applications, water rights petitions, or water quality certification pages.

For any water right public noticing related to the projects below, please go to the Water Rights Public Notice page. Please check status of project of interest below to determine noticing status. Public noticing of water rights applications and petitions typically occurs after receipt and initial review of the filing materials.

Envelope Subscribe to the Water Boards’ email subscription service for updates from water right applications or water right petitions to receive water right noticing for the project below.

WSIP Projects

Sites Reservoir Project

The Sites Reservoir Project is proposed by Sites Project Authority. The Sites Reservoir Project would be a 1.5 million acre-foot offstream surface storage reservoir located in the Sacramento Valley west of the town of Maxwell. The proposed reservoir’s conveyance facilities would include the use of existing Tehama Colusa Canal and Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District Canal diversion and conveyance facilities, plus a new discharge pipeline to divert water from and release water to the Sacramento River. Operation of the proposed reservoir would be in cooperation with the operations of existing Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP) system facilities.

Status:

  • On September 16, 2024, the State Water Board Chief Deputy Director issued a denial without prejudice for the Sites Reservoir Project.
  • On March 1, 2024, Sites Project Authority applied for a water quality certification for the Sites Reservoir Project.
  • On November 13, 2023, the State Water Board’s Executive Director assigned the matter to the Administrative Hearings Office (AHO) to conduct an adjudicative hearing. The December 5, 2023 Notice of Assignment and subsequent updates are available on the AHO webpage .
  • On June 2, 2023, the State Water Board issued public notice of the water right application for the Sites Reservoir Project.
  • On May 5, 2023, the State Water Board deemed the amended application sufficient to proceed with public notice of the application.
  • On January 6, 2023, the Sites Project Authority submitted an amended application for the Sites Reservoir Project. The amended application can be accessed through the eWRIMS Database System.
  • On August 26, 2022, the State Water Board accepted the Sites Project Authority’s water right application and requested information missing from the application before proceeding forward with processing the application.
  • A water rights application (Application A025517X01) has been filed by the Sites Project Authority for the Sites Reservoir Project on May 11, 2022. The application can be accessed through the eWRIMS Database System.
  • The State Water Board has submitted comment letters during the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) public review for the project:

Sites Reservoir Project contact: Alicia Forsythe, aforsythe@sitesproject.org. More information available: www.sitesproject.org.

State Water Board Water Rights contact: Sites-WR-Application@Waterboards.ca.gov

State Water Board Water Quality Certification contact: WR401Program@Waterboards.ca.gov

Media requests: Ailene Voisin, Office of Public Affairs, Ailene.Voisin@Waterboards.ca.gov

Subscribe:

  • Sign up to receive notifications regarding the water right proceeding by selecting “Sites Reservoir Public Hearing” in the Administrative Hearings Office topic group.
  • Sign up to receive notifications regarding the water quality certification by selecting “Water Rights Water Quality Certification” in the Water Rights topic group.

Pacheco Reservoir Expansion Project

The Pacheco Reservoir Expansion Project is being implemented by Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water). The Pacheco Reservoir Expansion (PRE) Project would enlarge the existing reservoir located in southeast Santa Clara County, from 6 thousand acre-feet (TAF) to 141.6 TAF. The PRE Project would construct new conveyance infrastructure to segments of the Central Valley Project (CVP) San Felipe Division in Merced and Santa Clara counties and deliver water supply to up to eight south-of- Delta wildlife refuges in Merced County. The primary water sources to fill the expanded reservoir would be natural inflows from the North and East Forks of Pacheco Creek. Supplemental flows to the expanded reservoir would arrive from Valley Water’s and the San Benito County Water District’s (SBCWD’s) share of contracted CVP pumped water from San Luis Reservoir. 

Status:

  • Staff from the State Water Board and Valley Water have been meeting periodically to discuss technical aspects for filing anticipated water right approvals for the project. Valley Water has yet to file a water right application and water right petition(s) for the project.
  • The State Water Board has submitted a comment letter during the CEQA public review for the project:2022 CEQA comment letter on the draft Environmental Impact Report. 

Pacheco Reservoir Expansion Project contact: Ryan McCarter, RMcCarter@valleywater.org. More information available: https://www.valleywater.org/project-updates/a1-pacheco-reservoir-expansion-project.
State Water Board staff assigned to Pacheco Reservoir Expansion Project: Amanda Montgomery, Amanda.montgomery@waterboards.ca.gov.

Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion Project

The Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion (LVE) Project is being implemented by Contra Costa Water District (CCWD). The LVE Project would expand the Los Vaqueros Reservoir, located in southeastern Contra Costa County, from its existing capacity of 160 thousand acre-feet (TAF) to 275 TAF, adding 115 TAF of new reservoir storage for CCWD’s regional partner agencies. The LVE Project would divert water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta at CCWD’s Rock Slough, Old River, and Middle River intakes, and at the Freeport Intake on the Sacramento River, under existing water rights and contracts held by CCWD’s project partners. The LVE Project would deliver water to agencies within CCWD’s service area, the Bay Area, the Delta, neighboring regions, and the south-of-Delta wildlife refuges. CCWD, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the State Department of Water Resources, and CCWD’s local partners are expecting to file water rights petitions to implement the LVE Project.

Status:

  • The State Water Board has been meeting with these agencies periodically to discuss technical aspects for filing anticipated water right petitions for the Project.
  • Environmental documents for the project are available from Contra Costa Water District.

Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion Project contact: Will Anderson, WAnderson@ccwater.com.  More information is available: https://ccwater.com/706/Los-Vaqueros-Studies  
State Water Board staff assigned to Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion Project: Jane Ling, jane.ling@waterboards.ca.gov.

WSIP Pulse Flow Projects

The WSIP Pulse Flow Projects are being implemented by the State Department of Water Resources (DWR) to aid fish migration through the release of pulse flows from Lake Oroville. These pulse flow releases which are in addition to any regulatory requirements, will be made available via a proportionate reduction in SWP deliveries and reduction in SWP exports through increased water supplies from three WSIP projects, including the Chino Basin Program, the Kern Fan Groundwater Storage Project, and the Willow Springs Water Bank Conjunctive User Project. This exchange water process would be managed by DWR in accordance with forthcoming agreements with individual WSIP Pulse Flow Projects that are approved for funding by the CWC and SWP partner contractors.

Status:

  • DWR has yet to file a water right application or water right petition for the project.

Pulse Flow Projects DWR contact: David Okita, David.Okita@water.ca.gov.
State Water Board staff assigned to Pulse Flow Projects: Jane Ling, jane.ling@waterboards.ca.gov.

Harvest Water Program

The Harvest Water Program (formerly named the South Sacramento County Agriculture and Habitat Lands Recycled Water, Groundwater Storage, and Conjunctive Use Program) is being implemented by the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (Regional San) to increase the use of recycled water by providing tertiary-treated wastewater for farmers and wildlife refuges. In 2016 Regional San filed a wastewater change petition (WW0092) to reduce the discharge of treated wastewater from the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant into the Sacramento River by up to 50,000 acre-feet annually and direct that water for the Harvest Water Program. Recycled water provided from the Harvest Water Program will be used to irrigate up to 16,000 acres of agriculture and habitat lands in Sacramento County near the lower Cosumnes River and Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.

Status: