North Bay Aqueduct
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (October 2013) |
The North Bay Aqueduct (NBA) is part of the California State Water Project. The aqueduct is 27.4 miles (44.1 km) long all in pipelines and serves Napa and Solano counties, California.
The State Water Project has rights to water originating from the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, and it stores water in Lake Oroville. The North Bay Aqueduct was envisioned as part of the State Water Project during the 1950s and 1960s when the project was being planned. Initial North Bay Aqueduct water service went to Benicia and Vallejo. In 1990, the North Bay Regional Water Treatment Plant, serving Fairfield and Vacaville, came on line and was able to treat water from the North Bay Aqueduct for these two cities. The aqueduct cost approximately $83 million to construct.
The North Bay Aqueduct is an underground pipeline that runs from Barker Slough in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to Cordelia Forebay, just outside Vallejo. From the Cordelia Forebay water is pumped to Napa County, Vallejo and Benicia. Travis Air Force Base is also served off the NBA. The size of the underground pipeline varies from 72 inches at Barker Slough to 54 inches at Cordelia Forebay. The NBA is operated remotely by the State Department of Water Resources (DWR) at the Delta Field Division office near Tracy.
The aqueduct cannot deliver the full 175 cfs flow it was designed and contracted for. Pumping tests have shown that it can deliver a maximum of 142 cfs. DWR, SCWA and Napa County are investigating methods to increase the capacity of the NBA at least to the contract amount of 175 cfs.
The North Bay Aqueduct diverts this water from Barker Slough, in the Delta, to the Solano agencies for water supply. The major State Water Project facilities that deliver water to the North Bay Aqueduct include:
- Barker Slough Pumping Plant, which pumps water from Barker Slough into the NBA;
- North Bay Aqueduct, a pipeline that delivers water from Barker Slough to Cordelia Forebay; and
- Cordelia Forebay, where water is pumped to Napa County, Vallejo, and Benicia.
Water agencies
- Solano County Water Agency - Maximum Annual Entitlement 29,025 acre-feet (35,802,000 m3)
- Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District - Maximum Annual Entitlement 47,756 acre-feet (58,906,000 m3)
References