In the late 1940s, John Reber proposed to build two large dams in the San Francisco Bay as a way to provide a more reliable freshwater supply to residents and farms and to connect local communities.

Cornelius Biemond proposed a similar plan which would dam the Sacramento River in the delta region to feed aqueducts with freshwater.

Authorized by Section 110 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1950, construction of the Bay Model was completed in 1957 to study the plans.

Features that affect the water flow of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta are reproduced, including ship channels, rivers, creeks, sloughs, the canals in the Delta, fills, major wharfs, piers, slips, dikes, bridges, and breakwaters.

The distortion is designed into the model to ensure a proper hydraulic flow over the tidal flats and shallows.