Los Vaqueros was a massive project. In addition to building the $61 million 192-foot-tall dam, the district had to:

• Build 12.8 miles of Vasco Road around the watershed at a cost of $27 million
• Relocate 20 electrical towers and 12 miles of gas line
• Build a new $20 million 10,000 horsepower pumping plant on Old River near Discovery Bay
• Construct a new $12 million transfer station with 8,000 horsepower pumps
• Build 20 miles of 6- to 8- foot diameter buried pipeline connecting all the new facilities with District's existing canal system in Antioch
• The District needed to secure nearly 20,000 acres land for the dam and the watershed.