Hazards to California's Delta Water System

This short video is one of a series of four total shorts highlighting USGS water science in California's Delta region. Earthquakes, land subsidence and flooding pose significant threats to California’s fresh water. Aqueducts, pipes and sewer lines can break and levees can breach. In the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta at the heart of the state’s freshwater system, the huge areas of farmland between leveed channels could suddenly be under water and water to more than twenty five million people could be crippled or cut off entirely. These are complex problems in need of attention and solutions. USGS Scientists are conducting a variety of diverse research to mitigate hazards in the Delta region.