Central Valley Project (CVP) Water Contracts 

Fact Sheet

There are approximately 270 water contracts or agreements for the delivery of CVP or water 

rights water; including water service contracts, water rights or settlement contracts on the 

Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus Rivers, Friant Division water repayment contracts, and 

contracts or agreements for wildlife refuges. 

 Most water service contracts allow for the use of both agricultural and M&I water 

although some contactors may not currently have a use for both. Contracts do not 

distinguish as to how much water is for agricultural use and how much is for M&I use. 

American River contractors, Contra Costa Water District, a few Sacramento River 

contractors and a few South of the Delta contractors allow are M&I only contractors.

 East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) and Placer County Water Agency PCWA 

have historically not taken their CVP water due to lack of delivery facilities. However, 

with the completion of the Freeport Pumping Plant in December 2009, EBMUD now 

takes delivery of CVP water based upon its dry year contract.

 Under the M&I water shortage policy, M&I allocations in times of shortage take into 

account the contractor’s Historical M&I usage, but not less than the amount required for 

public health and safety.

 For allocation purposes during water shortage conditions, the contractual agricultural 

water quantity is computed by subtracting a contractor’s historical M&I water use from 

their maximum contract allocation.

 Most CVP contractors do not rely solely on their CVP water supply as they have other 

sources of water available, such as their own water rights water, groundwater, State 

Water Project water and other sources.

 Settlement contracts on the Sacramento River include a base supply component for which 

they are not charged. This represents an agreed upon amount as part of a settlement 

reached pursuant to a 1956 study on the nature and extent of water rights in the 

Sacramento River Basin, and an additional CVP component for which they are charged.

 The Exchange Contractors on the San Joaquin River receive CVP water from the DeltaMendota Canal (DMC) at no charge in exchange for their water rights water which is 

diverted and sold to the Friant Division contractors. They can make a call on water stored 

behind Friant Dam should Reclamation not be able to meet their demand from the DMC.

 South of Delta Settlement Contractors receive a quantity of CVP water through the DMC 

(or Millerton if DMC supplies are not sufficient) at no charge in replacement of their 

water rights water, which is diverted and sold to the Friant Division contractors. 
Contracts for seven of these nine contractors also include a water service component for 

which they pay.

 Oakdale Irrigation District and South San Joaquin Irrigation District, on the Stanislaus 

River, have a settlement agreement which entitles them annually up to the first 600,000 

acre-feet of inflow to New Melones Reservoir in recognition of their water rights on the 

Stanislaus River.

 The East Bear Creek Unit of the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex has no 

ability to receive Level 2 water from the CVP due to lack of connection to the CVP. To 

meet Level 2 demands, water is purchased from private sources through the Water 

Acquisition Program (WAP) and delivered through a separate conveyance system. Since 

the purpose of the WAP is to acquire Incremental Level 4 water (and not Level 2 water), 

an equivalent amount of CVP water is made available elsewhere in the system and 

delivered as Incremental Level 4 supplies to other South of Delta Central Valley Project 

Improvement Act (CVPIA) refuges.

 The CVP currently has no connective conveyance facilities to 4 of the 19 CVPIA refuges: 

East Bear Creek Unit, Gray Lodge Wildlife Area, Sutter National Wildlife Refuge and 

Pixley National Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge Water Supply Program identifies a 

construction project for each of these refuges for providing conveyance facilities to allow 

for full delivery of CVPIA water allocations. Presently, Reclamation cannot meet its 

statutory obligations to these refuges.

March 2016