Central Valley 

Project 

Improvement

Act

P.L. 102-575

Background

On October 30, 1992, Public Law 102-575, the 

Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act 

of 1992, was signed into law by the President. This 

legislation included Title 34, the Central Valley Project 

Improvement Act (CVPIA or Act). The CVPIA amends 

previous authorizations of the CVP to include fish and 

wildlife protection, restoration, and mitigation as project 

purposes having equal priority with irrigation and 

domestic uses, and fish and wildlife enhancement as a 

project purpose equal to power generation. The 

Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation 

(Reclamation) and Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), in 

collaboration with State and local governments, Tribes, 

non-governmental organizations, and stakeholders, 

implement activities to meet the Act’s purposes.

Implementation

To-date (FY 1993-2010) the Program has completed 

several large projects including the Glenn-Colusa 

Irrigation District fish screen; Anderson-Cottonwood 

Irrigation District fish screen; and the Shasta temperature 

control device. Currently, the CVPIA Program is 

comprised of 15 active programs that fall in to three 

broad resource areas: fisheries, refuge, and other. 

The overarching Central Valley Fisheries goal is to 

double the natural production of anadromous fish on a 

sustainable basis. Specific accomplishments include: 

Butte Creek has been restored and the program has 

completed 98 actions from the Final Restoration Plan in 

26 watersheds throughout the Central Valley focusing on 

barrier removal, floodplain restoration and gravel 

supplementation.

Assisted the State of California in the screening of 29 

diversions ranging from 11 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 

960 cfs for a cumulative total of over 4,800 cfs.

On Clear Creek, 80% of the 2-mile restoration project has 

been restored, since the removal of McCormick-Saeltzer 

Dam. 

Created or improved spawning habitat by placing 186,000 

tons of gravel in the Sacramento River, 18,000 tons in the 

Stanislaus River, and 39,600 tons in the American River.

Began interim flow releases on the San Joaquin River 

from Friant Dam on October 1, 2009, and released for 

public review a draft Fisheries Management Plan.

Construction has commenced on the new fish screen 

structure at the entrance to the Contra Costa Canal in Rock 

Slough and will be completed in FY 2011.

Construction has commenced on the fish screen and 

permanent pumping plant at the Red Bluff Diversion Dam 

and is planned for completion in FY 2012.

The Trinity River Fisheries goal is to restore and sustain 

the natural production of anadromous fish populations 

downstream of Lewiston Dam to pre-dam levels. The 

Trinity River Restoration Program completed 23 of the 

47 target mechanical channel rehabilitation projects; and 

implemented full Record of Decision flows since 2005.

The Refuges goal is to supply 396,244 acre-feet of Level 

2 water and 159,271 acre-feet of Incremental Level 4 

water to all 19 CVPIA federal, state and private wildlife 

refuges. The Refuge Water Supply Program (RWSP) 

delivered an annual average of 387,544 acre-feet (af) of 

Level 2 water, and an annual average of 65,621 af of 

Incremental Level 4 water based on deliveries from 

Contract Water Years (CWY) 2002 through 2009. This 

represents 92 percent of the total contract Level 2

allocation and 52 percent of the total contract 

Incremental Level 4 allocation. 

The Other Resources goal is to protect and restore 

terrestrial habitat and the species that depend on them. 

The Habitat Restoration Program funded approximately 

107 projects supporting the recovery of threatened and 
U.S. Department of the Interior

Bureau of Reclamation

Fish and Wildlife Service Revised 2-16-11

endangered species including the acquisition and 

protection of over 100,000 acres; and the restoration of 

over 7,300 acres. The Land Retirement Program 

acquired approximately 9,300 acres and retired (removed 

from irrigated agriculture) approximately 9,000 acres 

from agricultural production (of the targeted 15,000 

acres).

For additional specific information on Program 

performance please see the Annual Reports to Congress 

(Accomplishments Reports), online at: 

http://www.usbr.gov/mp/cvpia/docs_reports/

index.html

Funding

The Program has historically accessed multiple funding 

sources: Restoration Fund, Water and Related Resources, 

and the State of California. The Act specifies funding 

sources for each provision; funding should either be 

reimbursable, non-reimbursable, or State of California; or 

a combination of these sources. The Restoration Fund, 

established by Section 3407(d) of the CVPIA, is an 

account in the Treasury of the United States and consists 

largely of revenue generated by fees levied on CVP 

water and power users. The total maximum annual 

Restoration Fund appropriation authorized by CVPIA is 

$50,000,000 (1992 price levels). Of this, $30,000,000 

(1992 price level) is the maximum amount (payment 

ceiling) that is authorized to be assessed and collected

from the water users. The current $30,000,000 payment 

ceiling is calculated on a 3-year rolling average, which 

results in a cyclical funding pattern when collections are 

limited by the water deliveries and appropriations are 

limited by Congress. In addition, the annual 

appropriation bill from Congress provides obligation 

authority based on estimated collections, and the 

obligation of these funds can only occur after the 

collections are made. This dynamic necessarily 

constrained the Fund in the early years and continues to 

present cash flow challenges today.

For more information on the CVPIA Program, contact:

Shana Kaplan, CVPIA Program Manager, Reclamation

(916) 978-5190, skaplan@usbr.gov

Cesar Blanco, CVPIA Program Manager, USFWS

(916) 978-6190, Cesar_Blanco@fws.gov

Funding Obligations and Requests

FY 1993-2010

The Program has obligated approximately 

$1,310.8 billion for Program implementation: 

$737.5M - Restoration Fund

$336.5M - Water and Related 

Resources

$80.9M - State of California cost-share

$133.4M - American Recovery 

Reinvestment Act

$21.5M - California Bay-Delta 

Restoration, 

$1M - Donated funds

In FY 2011, $49.9M was requested for 

Restoration Fund; and $54.6M was requested 

in Water and Related Resources.

In FY 2012, $53M was requested for 

Restoration Fund; and $49.8M was requested 

in the Water and Related Resources account.