Sacramento Valley Water Users Committee

Agency History

The California Central Valleys Flood Control Association (CCVFCA) began its existence as the Flood Control Association of Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers System (FCA) in 1926. Various private interests formed the FCA in order to promote Central Valley flood control issues with both the state and federal governments, as stated in Article II of the FCA's Articles of Association:

This association is organized for the following purposes:

(a) To keep before the National Government, and particularly before the National Congress, the established and recognized principle that control of the flood waters of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and their tributaries is a national problem which must be financed by the United States Government in co-operation with local interests; and to endeavor to secure from time to time an equitable distribution of the cost of such flood control between the National Government, the State Government, and the lands subject to benefit from such control. (b) To secure through the executive and legislative branches of the United States and the State of California adequate annual appropriations to continue the construction and maintenance of works to control the flood waters of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and their tributaries....

The Central Valley's history of devastating floods led the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' California Debris Commission (CDC) to develop plans for a levee and bypass flood control system in the Sacramento River watershed, called the Sacramento Flood Control Project (also known as the Sacramento River Flood Control Project). Assessments of landowners supplemented by monies from both the state and federal governments were to fund the construction and maintenance of the Project. In 1911, the California Legislature adopted a Flood Control Act formally approving the CDC's plan and creating a State Reclamation Board to supervise such reclamation activities across the state. The federal government endorsed the Project in 1917 as part of the first national Flood Control Act.

Although construction on the Sacramento Flood Control Project began almost immediately, activity slowed in the 1920s. American farming entered a depression early in this decade, initiated by drastic decreases in farm prices after World War I. As a result, landowners could not afford to pay the large assessments imposed by the state to cover the soaring construction costs of the Project. State and federal negotiations ensued, in order to re-evaluate a means of funding the Project. In 1926, various Central Valley landowners decided that they needed an organization designed specifically to lobby for, and safeguard private interests in, the development, construction, and financing of a flood control system on the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. They created the FCA.

Membership in the FCA consisted of reclamation, levee, and drainage districts in the watersheds of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers; landowners outside such districts but within the watershed; and the cities of Sacramento and Stockton. The governing body consisted of a Board of Directors elected biennially by the Association's constituents. By 1929, 43 districts had joined the FCA, with a total area of 725,027 acres. The FCA levied assessments on its members periodically, financing the activities of the Association in promoting the position of private interests in regard to flood control. Such activities included monitoring state and federal legislation that impacted flood control projects and cooperating with state, federal, and local government agencies (like the State Reclamation Board) in the planning and construction of flood control works. The Great Depression took its toll on Central Valley landowners however, and by 1933 the activities of the financially struggling FCA had virtually ceased.

Interest in the Association revived in the late 1930s. In 1938, representatives of various reclamation, flood control, levee, and drainage districts met to organize a new association. Although they adopted Articles of Association very similar to those of the FCA, the representatives chose a different name for the new organization: the California Central Valleys Flood Control Association (CCVFCA), by which it was known until the mid-1970s. After that time, the organization took on its current name, the California Central Valley Flood Control Association.

The CCVFCA concentrated most of its efforts upon flood control issues surrounding the Sacramento River watershed. Since its inception, the CCVFCA has worked closely with federal, state, and local government agencies as well as its constituents to promote the development, construction, and maintenance of effective flood control systems integrated with the numerous irrigation and other water projects constructed throughout the Central Valley, such as the Central Valley Project (CVP) and the State Water Project. The Association has taken a close interest in various issues regarding the Sacramento and San Joaquin Delta, as well as the water rights of its members. Currently, the CCVFCA has 75 members, consisting primarily of reclamation, drainage, and levee districts.

At times throughout its existence, the CCVFCA developed committees to deal with specific issues, or made arrangements with like-minded organizations, some of the records of which are included in this collection. These records are described below as subgroups of the CCVFCA collection. These subgroups include: Sacramento Valley Water Users Committee (1942-1960); Sacramento River and Delta Water Association (1950-1970); Sacramento River and Delta Water Committee (1970-1972); Delta Water Agency (1963-1971); Delta Counties Consulting Board (1961-1966); and North Delta Area Water Quality Committee (1974-1981).

From the guide to the Records of the California Central Valleys Flood Control Association, 1926-1981, (California State Archives)