California Department of Water Resources embarks on 2028 California Water Plan
The decades-old California Water Plan is getting an upgrade.
State Senator Anna Caballero (D-Merced) is the author of Senate Bill 72, which Governor Newsom signed last fall. The law mandates modernization of the California Water Plan and establishes for the first time in state history a statewide interim water supply target of 9-million-acre feet by 2040 to offset the anticipated loss from warmer ambient temperatures in the future.
Caballero talked about SB 72 and the CWP in a recent webinar series hosted by CSU-WATER, in partnership with the Maddy Institute and the office of Assemblymember David Tangipa.
“We need to come up with water solutions that meet the realities of today’s environment,” Caballero said. “There are a number of new technologies coming out to ensure that the water is available.”
She said that SB 72 creates measurable benchmarks, strengthens data collection, and aligns state, regional, and local water planning to address the growing challenges posed by climate change.
Caballero said, “The state’s ability to adapt has simply not kept pace with climate change, population growth and economic growth. Recent studies indicate that without better management California faces up to a $14.5 billion year in economic loss and 67,000 jobs lost annually. A large percentage of that loss will occur in the Central Valley if we don’t do something different.”
SB 72 is that “something different,” Caballero said. It is now being implemented through the launch of the California Water Plan 2028 process, led by the Department of Water Resources, marking a major step toward securing California’s long term water reliability amid increasing droughts, floods, and hydrological volatility.
Joel Metzger, Deputy Director for the Department of Water Resources, said that California’s snowpack is the greatest concern.
“That snowpack, you can think of it as the largest reservoir in California,” he said. “Our models are showing that the snowpack is going to become less and less reliable in the future.”
High mountain snowpack, largely in the Sierra Nevada, averages 15-million-acre feet per year, enough to cover the entire state of West Virginia (15.5 million acres) in about one foot of water. That’s three times bigger than Shasta Reservoir, the biggest in the state.
However, Metzger added, less snow doesn’t necessarily mean less water; models also show that California will have water that comes in the form of rain and not snow.
“These big atmospheric rivers will come in, and we will have major opportunities,” Metzger said.
SB 72 works as a kind legislative toolbox, one that includes surface water supply, groundwater storage, desalination of ocean water, recycled water, stormwater capture, and demand management or conservation in homes, businesses, and agriculture.
It also works well with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) because SGMA is driving the sustainability of all basins across the state by 2040.
The challenge will be determining how many acres can be irrigated sustainably across the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys, which means taking land out of production through demand management. This will have major impacts on communities, on businesses, and on small family farmers, Metzger said.
“We need to do everything we can to find the balance between implementing SGMA and understanding the human cost of that,” he said.
Metzger and the DWR are launching what he calls a “robust public engagement plan” to help hit the mark of 9-million-acre feet by 2040. He hopes that through an advisory committee, public meetings, and regional, statewide forums to come up with a holistic solution.
“We can look all these different strategies to increase our available water supply, be ready for the extremes, and we can still have the quality of life that we want to have in California,” Metzger said.
To learn more about the California Water Plan, and to find ways to get involved, visit its newly launched website or email CWP at cwpcom@water.ca.gov.
For more updates on Fresno County development and business initiatives, stay connected with the Fresno Chamber of Commerce.
Photo by Matt Hardy on Unsplash
