Since then, New Melones has struggled to fulfill its obligations to downstream water users; during droughts, the irrigation districts and the federal government have frequently fought over its water. One of the conditions of New Melones' construction was that the OID and SSJID be guaranteed the of water rights they had held since 1913. However, the Bureau of Reclamation has sometimes shorted the irrigation districts in favor of releasing water to support the ailing salmon and steelhead fisheries, which is required by federal law such as the 1972 Endangered Species Act and the 1991 Central Valley Project Improvement Act. In addition, the Melones Project is obligated to provide water to the Stockton East Water District, which irrigates an additional north of the Stanislaus River, and the Central San Joaquin