Калифорнийский водопровод: система орошения и водоснабжения штата.

Water supply project

The Governor Edmund G. Brown California Aqueduct is a system of canals, tunnels, and pipelines that conveys water collected from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and valleys of Northern and Central California to Southern California. Named after California Governor Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown Sr., the over 400 mile (644 km) aqueduct is the principal feature of the California State Water Project. The aqueduct begins at the Clifton Court Forebay at the southwestern corner of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. The aqueduct then heads south, eventually splitting into three branches: the Coastal Branch, ending at Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara County; the West Branch, conveying water to Castaic Lake in Los Angeles County; and the East Branch, connecting Silverwood Lake in San Bernardino County. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) operates and maintains the California Aqueduct, including one pumped storage hydroelectric plant, Gianelli Power Plant. Gianelli is located at the base of San Luis Dam, which forms San Luis Reservoir, the largest offstream reservoir in the United States. The Castaic Power Plant, while similar and which is owned and operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, is located on the northern end of Castaic Lake, while Castaic Dam is located at the southern end. Land subsidence has occurred along the aqueduct and has had a steady increase since its relatively stable state post construction of the aqueduct.

The aqueduct serves 35 million people and 5.7 million acres of farmland, and begins at the San Joaquin Sacramento River Delta at the Banks Pumping Plant, which pumps from the Clifton Court Forebay. Water is pumped by the Banks Pumping Plant to the Bethany Reservoir. The reservoir serves as a forebay for the South Bay Aqueduct via the South Bay Pumping Plant. From the Bethany Reservoir, the aqueduct flows by gravity approximately 60 mile (97 km) to the O'Neill Forebay at the San Luis Reservoir. From the O'Neill Forebay, it flows approximately 16 mile (26 km) to the Dos Amigos Pumping Plant. After Dos Amigos, the aqueduct flows about 95 mile (153 km) to where the Coastal Branch splits from the "main line". The split is approximately 16 mile (26 km) south southeast of Kettleman City. After the coastal branch, the line continues by gravity another 66 mile (106 km) to the Buena Vista Pumping Plant. From the Buena Vista, it flows approximately 27 mile (43 km) to the Teerink Pumping Plant. After Teerink it flows about 2.5 mile (4 km) to the Chrisman Pumping Plant. Chrisman is the last pumping plant before Edmonston Pumping Plant, which is 13 mile (21 km) from Chrisman. South of the plant the west branch splits off in a southwesterly direction to serve the Los Angeles Basin. At Edmonston Pumping Plant it is pumped 1926 feet (587 m) over the Tehachapi Mountains. Water flows through the aqueduct in a series of abrupt rises and gradual falls. The water flows down a long segment, built at a slight grade, and arrives at a pumping station powered by Path 66 or Path 15. The pumping station raises the water, where it again gradually flows downhill to the next station. However, where there are substantial drops, the water's potential energy is recaptured by hydroelectric plants. The initial pumping station fed by the Sacramento River Delta raises the water 240 feet (73 m), while a series of pumps culminating at the Edmonston Pumping Plant raises the water 1926 feet (587 m) over the Tehachapi Mountains. A typical section has a concrete lined channel 40 feet (12 m) at the base and an average water depth of about 30 feet (9 m). The widest section of the aqueduct is 110 feet (34 m) and the deepest is 32 feet (10 m). Channel capacity is and the largest pumping plant capacity at Dos Amigos is
A 2021 study published in Nature Sustainability estimated that the installation of solar panels over the canal could potentially reduce annual water evaporation by of canal. While electricity generated by the solar panels could be used by the aqueduct's pumping systems, the study also considered the possibility of supplying power to irrigation systems in the Central Valley to reduce reliance on diesel powered irrigation pumps. Similar canal spanning solar installations have been demonstrated in India, including a steel truss design in Gujarat and a suspension cable design in Punjab.

From its beginning until its first branch, the aqueduct passes through parts of Contra Costa, Alameda, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Fresno, and Kings counties. The aqueduct then divides into three branches: the Coastal Branch in the Central Valley, and the East and West Branches after passing over the Tehachapi Mountains.

Land subsidence is when the land gradually or suddenly sinks or settles due to movement or removal of natural materials such as water, minerals, oil and natural gases. More often than not, subsidence occurs when large quantities of groundwater are removed from sediment or rocks. As groundwater is drawn from deep underground layers of clay, the clay compresses, causing subsidence. In cases of groundwater removal, disruption to land on the surface and underground water storage can either be elastic, meaning recoverable, or inelastic, meaning permanent. Coarse grained sediment which holds groundwater can be drained and recharged with minimal underground and surface level damage and the change that does occur is considered seasonal subsidence. The aqueduct has been increasing in subsidence rates rapidly, even though it was relatively stable for many years after being constructed. The Tulare Basin is subsiding at a rate of about one foot per year, as measured by NASA's GRACE satellite. The Central Valley, where a large portion of the California Aqueduct runs through, has been affected by the pumping of groundwater and subsequent land subsidence. Farmers in and near the Central Valley have become reliant on groundwater especially with recent droughts impacting the amount of readily accessible surface water. From October 2011 to September 2015 measurements made on groundwater levels in the San Joaquin Valley's aquifers recorded a loss of 14 km3/year, a total of 56 km3.

Subsidence can put land, both private and public, at risk of infrastructure damage. Bridges, levees, roads, and groundwater wells are either at risk of damage or have been damaged already. With subsidence progression, underground aquifers could be at risk and water storage from them could be threatened. was commissioned by the U. S. A&E network in the late 2000s. The documentary is typically shown on the History television channel in the United States, although other educational broadcasters globally have shown it. It features the Clifton Court Forebay (a primary intake point for California Aqueduct) as a "strategic piece of California freshwater infrastructure" subject to shutdown for up to two years if struck by an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 or greater. The aqueduct is featured in an episode of California's Gold with Huell Howser.