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| Peripheral Canal (California) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Peripheral Canal (California) |
| Location | California, San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta |
| Status | Proposed/Unbuilt |
| Proposed | 20th century–21st century |
| Stakeholders | State of California, California Department of Water Resources, United States Bureau of Reclamation, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, California Farm Bureau Federation, Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, Audubon Society |
Peripheral Canal (California)
The Peripheral Canal was a recurring California water infrastructure proposal intended to divert freshwater around the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta to serve Los Angeles County, San Joaquin Valley, Central Valley Project, State Water Project contractors and urban regions such as San Francisco and San Diego. Advocates framed the project within debates involving the California State Water Project, Central Valley Project, Delta smelt conservation, Endangered Species Act, and statewide water allocation politics; opponents raised alarms informed by cases like Kesterson Reservoir contamination and decisions from the California Supreme Court. The proposal resurfaced across administrations, ballot measures, and federal reviews tied to agencies such as the United States Army Corps of Engineers and courts including the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Early concepts trace to 19th-century surveys by John C. Frémont era explorers and later planning in the era of William Mulholland and Central Valley Project engineers. In the 1950s–1960s, the California Department of Water Resources and figures tied to the State Water Project developed schemes similar to canal proposals championed by interests in Los Angeles, San Joaquin Valley, and Sacramento. The 1982 defeat of a statewide ballot measure reflected organizing by coalitions including the Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, and regional groups from Contra Costa County and Solano County. In the 1990s and 2000s renewed designs appeared amid droughts that engaged Governor Jerry Brown, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and federal policy actors such as the United States Bureau of Reclamation.
Proponents argued the canal would improve water reliability for Municipal Water Districts, agricultural irrigation districts in the Central Valley, and southern California exporters tied to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, while reducing pumping impacts in the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River confluence. Proposals emphasized integration with the State Water Project and Central Valley Project facilities, operational synergy with Shasta Dam, Friant Dam, and conveyance linked to the California Aqueduct. Support came from the California Farm Bureau Federation, certain Bay-Delta Public Advisory Committee allies, and infrastructure contractors advocating jobs tied to bond measures and federal appropriations.
Engineered variants ranged from a north-to-south canal circumventing the western Delta islands to tunnels beneath the Delta plain similar to concepts later proposed by CALFED and the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. Plan elements invoked structures like pumping plants comparable to those at Contra Costa and State Water Project Pumping Plant, diversion intakes near Suisun Marsh and Rio Vista, and conveyance corridors paralleling Interstate 5 or crossing near Sherman Island. Technical discussions engaged consultants from firms linked to projects like Central Valley Project Improvement Act works and compared to international schemes such as the Three Gorges Dam in scale debates. Engineering reviews involved environmental impact statements prepared under National Environmental Policy Act analogues and state permitting by agencies including the California Coastal Commission for interconnected matters.
Environmental analyses stressed potential harm to species protected under the Endangered Species Act such as the Delta smelt and Chinook salmon runs that use San Joaquin River and Sacramento River habitats. Conservation organizations including the Sierra Club, Audubon Society, and Nature Conservancy raised concerns about altered salinity in the San Francisco Bay, impacts to Suisun Bay wetlands, and risks to migratory bird habitat referenced in cases involving Kesterson Reservoir and Salton Sea lessons. Fisheries science from institutions like UC Davis and federal reports from the National Marine Fisheries Service informed critiques of entrainment, prey base declines, and long-term estuarine regime shifts.
Contestation centered on ballot politics, litigation, and coalition battles among regions and interest groups including Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, San Joaquin County, and environmental NGOs. The 1982 ballot defeat reflected mobilization similar to campaigns on measures involving Proposition 187 and other statewide initiatives. Legal disputes intersected with state water rights doctrines, the California Environmental Quality Act, and federal endangered species compliance, producing litigation in forums such as the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California and appellate proceedings that referenced precedent from the California Supreme Court.
Alternatives evolved to include isolated conveyance tunnels, staged infrastructure investments, and ecosystem restoration programs promoted through the CALFED Bay-Delta Program, Bay Delta Conservation Plan, and later the Delta Conveyance proposals. Policy alternatives cited adaptive management research from University of California, Berkeley and water markets advocated by economists tied to Stanford University. Nonstructural approaches included groundwater recharge supported by legislation like the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, conservation programs run by Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and habitat restoration financed by bonds similar to Proposition 1.
Though the original Peripheral Canal was never constructed, its legacy shaped subsequent debates over the Bay-Delta conveyance, influenced bond measures, and informed the design of later projects including the Delta Tunnel and California WaterFix discussions. Current status involves ongoing planning, permitting, and litigation among state agencies such as the California Department of Water Resources, federal entities like the Bureau of Reclamation, regional water agencies, and conservation groups. The proposal remains a reference point in California water policy, influencing contemporary discourse on resilience amid droughts, climate change impacts studied by IPCC-referenced science, and interregional allocation disputes involving actors from Sacramento to Los Angeles.
Category:Water infrastructure in California