Water Facts - American River Watershed
- 40% of the water supply comes from snowfall. Precipitation varies within the watershed from 25 to 80 inches annually. 40% of the river's flow comes down the Middle Fork. 40% of the river's flow comes down the South Fork. 20% of the river's flow comes down the North Fork. The 13 largest reservoirs in the watershed store a combined 1.9 million acre feet of water.
- Folsom Lake is the largest reservoir in the watershed.
Water Facts - U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 1905-1951
The Bureau of Reclamation and its predecessor built numerous water structures to reclaim the arid west for farming. Over 14,000 square miles of farmland received water and the West bloomed.
- 339 reservoirs
- 154 diversion dams
- 7,670 miles of irrigation canals
- 1,170 miles of pipelines
- 270 miles of tunnels
- 267 pumping plants
- 52 hydroelectric power plants
