About the District
In the 2000 Water Management Plan, the Yolo County Flood Control & Water Conservation District formalized its mission:
“To plan, develop, and manage the conjunctive use of its surface and groundwater resources to provide a safe and reliable water supply, at a reasonable cost, and to sustain the socio-economic and environmental well-being of Yolo County.”
The 2000 Water Management Plan is a comprehensive water resources management plan that describes the District’s history, water rights and facilities, and outlines goals for future surface and groundwater management activities.
The full plan can be accessed here.
The District was established in 1951 by the California Legislature at the request of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors. The primary purpose of this new independent special district was to monitor and report on groundwater supplies, to seek new surface water sources, and to implement an efficient conjunctive management program.
Initially, the District had no water rights and operated on a very small budget generated by property taxes. Today, the District owns and operates two impoundment dams – the Cache Creek and Indian Valley Dams – the Capay Diversion Dam, a small hydroelectric plant, and more than 160 miles of canals and laterals to bring surface water to growers in western Yolo County. The District grew from acquiring the Clear Lake Water Company in 1967, which was the owner of the Cache Creek and Capay Diversion Dams and much of the canal system, and then expanding that system afterwards, including construction of Indian Valley Dam.
The District’s boundaries cover more than 200,000 acres in Yolo County, including the cities of Woodland, Davis, and Winters, and the towns of Capay, Esparto, Madison and other small communities throughout the Capay Valley. To be within the District’s service area means a variety of things to the communities that the District serves. At its core the District is an irrigation company that provides water for farmers, but there is so much more to our story and mission. Residents within our service area benefit from the District’s ongoing groundwater recharge and monitoring activities, the focus on effective conjunctive management of surface and groundwater supplies, and our advocacy for increasing water supply and protecting water quality. The District plays a role in flood protection in the upper Cache Creek watershed, handles myriad regulatory compliance duties, and collaborates with other local entities to advocate for water sustainability on a regional level.
Oversight for the District comes from the District’s Board of Directors, which consists of five volunteer directors who are appointed by each of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors.