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Estimate of Paper Water for the Central Valley Watershed: Promises Exceeding Reality

River/ Watershed System

 Unimpaired Runoff, 1956-2006 Average (1000s of Acre-Feet)
 Total Watershed Water Rights (1000s of Acre-Feet)
 Total Water Rights Exceeding Recent Average Runoff

Trinity River at Lewiston Lake
 1,389.3
 16,910.3
 15,521.0
Sacramento River Watershed
 18,209.7
 27,449.2
 9,239.5
San Joaquin River Basin
 7,042.2
 25,198.7
 18.156.5
Tulare Lake Basin
 3,027.7
 12,966.8
 9,939.1
Total
52,856.1
Sources: California Data Exchange, “Runoff Data for Water Year 2009” from the California Department of Water Resources, including 50-year average for 1956-2006, report generated 9/23/2009 at 08:51, accessed 2 October 2009; and State Water Resources Control Board data on water rights by watersheds obtained from Integrated Water Rights Management System (IWRIMS).

By this analysis, there may be as much as 53 million acre-feet of paper water in these watersheds—in other words, an excess of state promises over what nature delivers here in California.

This is an estimate of paper water in selected watersheds that are part of the federal Central Valley Project, and should be interpreted as indicative of paper water in the California water system, and not a definitive accounting of paper water.

The Trinity River is included in the analysis because the Central Valley Project exports water from it to the Central Valley watershed.

This analysis includes power generation water rights here, as distinct from water rights available for consumptive use.

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