Delta Overview

The Delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers is California’s water supply crossroads. It is the major collection point for water that serves more than 25 million people, two-thirds of our State’s population.

The maze of islands and channels at the confluence of these two large rivers has long been the focal point of debate surrounding a number of complicated water-related issues of statewide importance. Agricultural, urban, industrial, environmental, and recreational interests have a vital stake in the Delta and a need to understand the physical Delta and its
complex interrelationships.

This Overview describes the waterways, highways, levees, historic flooding, water supply systems and political boundaries of the Delta to convey a basic understanding of the complexity of the Delta and its significance to the people of California.