The chart below illustrates the ownership mix of California dams. The top owner, DOI BR, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, owns more stored water in California than the next fourteen top owners combined. This perhaps demonstrates vividly the immensity of the California Water Project, built mainly to irrigate the state's farms. Another interesting observation from this chart is that one of the top fifteen owners appears to be a private individual: Who is “C. Bruce Orvis” and why does he own about a million acre-feet of water in the state? This observation could lead to further inquiry on large-scale private water ownership.
