Jersey Island is a natural habitat for the Delta's wildlife and waterfowl, including some endangered species. Jersey Island, because of its function as a wildlife habitat and proximity to the Delta, has also become a popular destination for fishermen.

Reclamation District No. 830 (RD 830) is a 3,520-acre island used by Ironhouse Sanitary District as a means of disposal of the district's recycled water. RD 830 consists of a 3,561-acre island located northeast of the City of Oakley and west of Bethel Island .The Island located on the west by the San Joaquin River, on the north by the False River, on the northeast by Piper Slough, on the east by Taylor Slough, and on the south by Dutch Slough.

The island has been determined to be critical to the health of the Delta. RD 830 is under the ownership of a single landowner - lronhouse Sanitary District (ISO). The District maintains 15.5 miles of levees. Recently, RD 830 entered into a $6 million agreement with DWR to serve as lead agency providing approximately $5.9 million worth of mitigation credits to all eligible Delta reclamation districts. In addition to an annual assessment, the District is also reimbursed annually for management costs by ISO as part of a Memo of Understanding (MOU) for the purchase and ongoing maintenance of RD 830.

RD 830 uses the recycled water from the Ironhouse Sanitary District to irrigate hay grown on the island, which is then fed to cattle raised by the Ironhouse Cattle Company.

The district was formed in March of 1911 under the Reclamation District Law of 1868 for the purpose of forming a district to build levees and “reclaim” land subject to periodic overflow from neighboring rivers and water bodies. At this time the Government was promoting reclamation to develop swamp lands for the improvement and cultivation of the thousands of acres in California.

RD 830 is surrounded on all sides sides by levees.  There are (?) miles of levees on the island. All of the levees were originally built by the local landowner using whatever materials available and whatever criteria they chose.

Today, RD 830 maintains and repairs the Jersey Island levees.

Recycled Water To Water Hay Fields

 As stated earlier half of ISD's recycled water is released on to Jersey Island to help water hay fields. In turn the district-grown hay is used to feed ISD owned cattle. The cattle are then sold around the world. This process provides an environmentally safe way to distribute ISD's recycled water.

Bradford Island Reclamation District 2059 (District) is made up of five trustees, an office manager, levee superintendent, district engineer and attorney. The District maintains approximately 7.4 miles of levee on 2,500 acres. The District is also responsible for the main drainage canal that runs through the center of the island to the pump station that discharges to Fisherman’s Cut.