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TheC.W. Bill Jones Pumping Plant (formerly the Tracy Pumping Plant)[1] located 9 miles (14 km) northwest ofTracy, California, was constructed between 1947 and1951, and is a key component of theCentral Valley Project.[2]TheDelta Cross Channel interceptsSacramento River water as it travels westwards towardsSuisun Bay and diverts it south through a series of man-made channels, theMokelumne River, and other naturalsloughs,marshes anddistributaries. From there, the water travels to the C.W. Bill Jones Pumping Plant, which raises water into theDelta-Mendota Canal, which in turn travels 117 miles (188 km) southwards to Mendota Pool on theSan Joaquin River, supplying water to other CVP reservoirs about midway. The Tracy Fish Collection Facility exists at the entrance of the pump plant in order to catch fish that would otherwise end up in the Delta-Mendota Canal.[3]
The Jones Pumping Plant provides water service to 32 water districts within the western San Joaquin Valley,San Benito andSanta Clara counties. Of the approximate 3,000,000 acre-feet (3.7×109 m3) of water distributed, 2,500,000 acre-feet (3.1×109 m3) is delivered to farms, 200,000 acre-feet (250,000,000 m3) to urban areas, including Tracy and cities with in the Santa Clara Valley Water District, and 300,000 acre-feet (370,000,000 m3) for wildlife refuges.[4]
37°47′48″N121°35′08″W / 37.796603°N 121.585494°W /37.796603; -121.585494