South Delta Gates Project
The South Delta Gates (SDG) Project seeks to replace the south Delta temporary rock barriers with permanent operable gates.
Since 1991, the temporary rock barriers have been constructed annually to mitigate water level impacts associated with export operations at the Central Valley Project’s Jones Pumping Plant and State Water Project’s Banks Pumping Plant in the south Delta.
In 2025, DWR re-started evaluation of state-of-the-art, permanent operable gates that could provide the benefits of the temporary barriers while adding operational flexibility to respond quickly to hydrologic conditions and reducing ecological impacts. The gates would remain in the channels year-round and could be operated when needed to provide local and statewide benefits.
The proposed South Delta Gates Project seeks to improve water quality, fisheries conditions, and water level protection in the south Delta compared to operations with the existing temporary rock barriers.
DWR is committed to prioritizing transparency, community input, and partnerships for the SDG Project. Please visit the Public Meetings section below for information from the bi-annual public meetings which started in April 2025. To stay informed about upcoming meetings, please subscribe by emailing SouthDeltaGates@water.ca.gov.
Project Schedule (subject to change)
DWR is conducting the South Delta Geotechnical Investigations (SDGI) as a separate project to assess subsurface soil characteristics for the planning, and eventual design, of the SDG Project. Geotechnical investigations will include soil borings and cone penetration tests (CPTs) which will be used to gain a preliminary understanding of the geological and geotechnical conditions at potential SDG construction locations in Old River, Middle River, and Grant Line Canal in San Joaquin County. These geotechnical investigations will inform the development of design, engineering, and alternatives analysis for the SDG Project.
The SDGI Project is exempt from CEQA under Class 6 – Information Collection. None of the exceptions to the exemption have been found to apply, and the Notice of Exemption can be viewed at the State Clearinghouse webpage, Notice of Exemption Form D.
To better understand how permanent operable gates might function, DWR is undertaking a hydrologic modeling effort to develop a gate operations scenario which balances project objectives (Operations Framework). Hydrologic modeling and preliminary analysis of potential operational scenarios are necessary to understand operational trade-offs that would be necessary to address multiple needs and potential benefits of the SDG Project (e.g., water levels, water quality, fish passage, etc.) relative to the temporary rock barriers. The Operations Framework report is anticipated at the end of 2026.
Preparation of an Initial Study (IS) for the SDG Project is underway and will be followed by a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) or an Environmental Impact Report (EIR), depending on the results of the IS. CEQA documents will be posted on the State Clearinghouse website when available, on the CEQANet Web Portal. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is anticipated to lead the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process.
Permit authorizations under Clean Water Act Sections 401 and 404, a Lake and Streambed Alteration Agreement under Fish and Game Code Section 1602, Incidental Take Permits under federal and State Endangered Species Acts, and consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer under the National Historic Preservation Act will be completed prior to initiating construction of the SDG Project.
Tribal engagement for SDG was initiated under Assembly Bill 52 (AB 52) in March 2025. DWR is committed to engagement with Tribes under AB 52, as well as engagement under the DWR Tribal Engagement Policy and the California Natural Resources Agency Tribal Consultation Policy. To engage with DWR or request additional information, please contact:
- DWR Office of Tribal Affairs Executive Manager, Anecita Agustinez, TribalPolicyAdvisor@water.ca.gov
- SDG Project Team, SouthDeltaGates@water.ca.gov
April 2, 2025 Biannual Meeting (presentation, recording, and meeting summary coming soon)
Contact
Kate Le
SDG Project Manager
Department of Water Resources
Division of Operations and Maintenance
Water Initiatives Planning and Management Branch
Phone: (916) 902-9895
Email: SouthDeltaGates@water.ca.gov
Stay Connected
To subscribe to the project updates email list, email SouthDeltaGates@water.ca.gov.