EBMUD and the Delta

The Sacramento - San Joaquin River Delta is an extensive inland estuary that supports about 500 different plant and animal species and provides drinking water for 3 million Bay Area residents and 22 million Southern Californians. The Delta ecosystem has been in a serious decline for a number of decades. The South Delta pumps that provide irrigation and drinking water supplies are widely believed to be a significant contributor to the Delta ecosystem collapse.

Though EBMUD does not deliver Delta water to customers, we rely on a healthy Delta ecosystem and a safe water supply. EBMUD and our East Bay customers depend mostly on the Mokelumne River, a small Delta tributary that originates in the Sierras, for nearly all of our drinking water supply. Water travels 90 miles from EBMUD’s Pardee Reservoir to the East Bay via three large aqueducts. Fifteen miles of the aqueducts cross the fragile Delta, where the large pipes are vulnerable to flooding and earthquakes.

In addition to EBMUD’s water supply and infrastructure interests in the Delta, EBMUD also owns a steelhead and salmon hatchery on the Mokelumne River and is responsible for maintaining downstream flows on the river to optimize ecosystem habitats.