San Luis. Because water from the Oroville and Shasta dams (from the existing Central Valley Project) would be moved down the existing Sacramento River channel into the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, excess flows would roll through the delta and then be stored in the Central Valley until needed. Construction of the Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant, located near Tracy, California, also began in 1963. DWR timeline Legal and political authorization Though the DWR was formed in 1956 with the purpose to build and operate the State Water Project, as a state organization responsible for the development and protection of water resources, the department has since been subject to numerous legislative, judicial, and administrative orders that dictate how the department should protect the public trust. Like any other water user, the DWR must apply for water rights permits from the State Water Resources Control Board. The water rights decisions of the Control Board limit the amount of water that the department can provide to communities and also are responsible for many of the legal, administrative, and environmental projects that the department has adopted. Unlike most other users, the department also must answer to the Governor's Office and State Legislature. Flood control and local assistance programs often have a basis in the DWR's role as a resource trustee, while water supply, environmental mitigation, and electricity generation are often related to the DWR's role as a water permittee. State Water Project Scope The project makes deliveries to two-thirds of California's population. It includes 34 storage facilities, reservoirs and lakes; 20 pumping plants; four pumping-generating plants; five hydroelectric power plants; and about 701 miles of open canals and pipelines. State Water Project facts and figures List of DWR projects Conveyance and storage facilities Oroville Dam (1967) North Bay Aqueduct Clifton Court Forebay Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant (1968) South Bay Aqueduct California Aqueduct West Branch East Branch Coastal Branch O'Neill Forebay San Luis Reservoir (1967) Whale Rock Dam (1960) Edmonston Pumping Plant (1971) Silverwood Lake Lake Perris Flood control projects Sutter Bypass Tisdale Weir Tisdale Bypass Sacramento Weir Yolo Bypass Recreation projects Antelope Dam (1964) Mitigation/restoration projects The following is a list of projects that the DWR oversees or contributes to that are designed to mitigate the impacts of the operation of the State Water Project. Feather River Salmon and Steelhead Hatchery (1967) Thermalito Afterbay (1968) Yolo Bypass Wildlife Recreation Area Suisun Marsh Skinner