The aqueduct and the associated dams, pipelines, treatment plants and hydroelectric system are owned and operated by the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) and provide over 90 percent of the water used by the agency.

[1] Under present water rights agreements, EBMUD can withdraw up to 325 million gallons (1,230,000 m3) per day, or 364,000 acre-feet (0.449 km3) per year, from the Mokelumne River.

[2] In the early 20th century, due to a lack of reliable local water, Bay Area cities began to look to rivers in the Sierra Nevada, about 100 miles (160 km) east, as a potential new source.

[4]: 159 Construction began in 1926 and by 1929, the 345-foot (105 m) high, concrete arch Pardee Dam and the First Mokelumne Aqueduct, consisting of a single pipeline, were completed.

[5]: 145  The USBR supply was delayed for nearly 40 years in part due to minimum flow requirements in the American River to protect salmon and steelhead populations.

Near Lodi, the aqueduct is joined by an extension of the Folsom South Canal, which supplements the Mokelumne River supply.

[10] Once the water reaches the Berkeley Hills above the East Bay, it is channeled into a complex distribution system consisting of six terminal reservoirs (Briones, Chabot, Lafayette, San Pablo and Upper San Leandro) with a combined storage capacity of 155,150 acre-feet (0.19137 km3).

Water not immediately put into the municipal system is stored in the reservoirs for use in times of low delivery or drought.

[12]: 85  Aside from the main facilities, the distribution system includes 4,000 miles (6,400 km) of pipes, 125 pump plants, and 168 local reservoirs/storage tanks.