ABSTRACT
Kesterson Reservoir and the San Luis Drain were constructed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (hereinafter shortened to USBR or Reclamation) between 1968 and 1975 [1]. The drain extends from the Five Points area in Fresno County to Kesterson Reservoir in Merced County (Figure 1). It was originally intended to extend into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, but construction was halted in 1975 because of funding limitations and concern over the potential environmental impacts of discharging agricultural drainwater into the delta. During Kesterson Reservoir's early operation, flow was mainly from surface water, but after 1981 most of the flow into Kesterson Reservoir was subsurface drainage water from irrigated agriculturallands in Fresno County.
