San Luis Reservior

B.F. Sisk Dam Raise and Reservoir Expansion Project for Water Storage

B.F. Sisk Dam and San Luis Reservoir, located on the west side of California’s Central Valley near Los Banos, are an integral part of the federal Central Valley Project and State Water Project. The dam, built between 1963 and 1967, is a 382-foot-high earthfill embankment over 3.5-miles long that impounds San Luis Reservoir, the largest offstream reservoir in the nation. The reservoir has a total capacity of more than 2 million acre-feet, which provides water for farms, communities, and wildlife refuges south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. B.F. Sisk, previously called San Luis Dam, is owned by the Bureau of Reclamation and operated by the California Department of Water Resources.

San Luis Reservoir location map

While implementing safety of dam modifications at B.F. Sisk Dam, Reclamation is partnering with San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority to raise the dam an additional 10-feet to create an extra 130,000 acre-feet of storage in San Luis Reservoir. The additional space would be used to store water that could be delivered to south-of-Delta water contractors and wildlife refuges. This water would meet existing contractual obligations and not serve any new demands.

B.F Sisk Raise demonstration graphic

A $25 million investment to the project under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was announced in October 2022, and an additional $10 million in July 2023. The project was also authorized $60 million for construction from the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act for a total federal contribution of $95 million to date.

B.F. Sisk Dam Raise and Reservior Project map

Documents

Reclamation Exhibits

  • January 30, 2024 | Exhibit 1-A (PDF - 491 KB)
  • March 7, 2024 | Exhibit 1-B (PDF - 687 KB)
  • March 14, 2024 | Exhibit 2 (PDF - 481 KB)
  • Draft | 3F Article 3, Exhibit 3 (PDF - 105 KB)
  • April 18, 2024 | Exhibit 4 (PDF - 501 KB)
  • April 19, 2024 | Exhibit 5 Project Water Concepts (PDF - 92 KB)
  • May 27, 2024 | Exhibit 6 (PDF - 301 KB)
  • May 29, 2024 | Exhibit 7 (PDF - 304 KB)
  • May 30, 2024 | Exhibit 8 (PDF - 302 KB)
  • May 30, 2024 | Exhibit 9 (PDF - 301 KB)

    • San Luis and Delta Mendota Water Authority Exhibits

  • March 14, 2024 | Exhibit 1 (PDF - 292 KB)
  • March 14, 2024 | Exhibit 2 (PDF - 296 KB)
  • April 18, 2024 | Exhibit 3 (PDF - 134 KB)
  • May 6, 2024 | Exhibit 4 (PDF - 292 KB)
  • May 27, 2024 | Exhibit 5 (PDF - 303 KB)
  • June 28, 2024 | Exhibit 6 (PDF - 303 KB)

    • News Releases and Stories

    July 27, 2023 Biden-Harris Administration Investing $152 Million Through Investing in America Agenda to Expand Water Storage in the West | U.S. Department of the Interior (doi.gov)
    October 7, 2022 Biden-Harris Administration announces $210 million for drought resilience projects in the West

    Alcove construction
    Project Factsheet

     

     

     

    Last Updated: 7/8/24