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In 1855, California passed the Reclamation District Act providing for sale of swamp and overflow lands at $1 per acre with payments over 5 years, and a 320-acre limit. Today, these lands in the Delta are ringed with levees and have their own districts for maintaining the levees. Some islands belong to more than one district. A more populated island, Bethel, has an organization with broader responsibilities which is known as the Bethel Island Municipal Improvement District. Inforamtion on expenditures for levee emergency work and annual maintenance for these districts is contained in Tables 1 (page 1 and page 2) and 2 (page 1 and page 2) along with values for acreage and miles of levee.
Part 1 of the reclamation and levee maintenance districts map shows the southern Delta. Part 2 of the reclamation and levee maintenance districts map shows the northern Delta.