This collection was given to WRCA in 1973 by Erwin Cooper, former information officer for the California Department of Water Resources. it is made up of press releases, speeches (many by former DWR Directors), news clippings, reports, photographs, and miscellaneous memoranda on California water resources development during the period 1950-1965. Some of the material was used as source material for Cooper's book, Aqueduct Empire: A Guide to Water in California, its Turbulent History and its Management today, published in 1968. The collection is particularly outstanding in its coverage of the California State Water Project (Feather River Water Project).

Copyright has not been assigned to the Water Resources Collections and Archives. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Water Resources Collections and Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Collection is open for research.