California Water Plan 2028 Underway

Resource Recovery

From the Department of Water Resources…

Development is underway for California Water Plan 2028, the state’s long-range roadmap for managing water resources. Updated every five years, the 2028 plan will be the first developed under the new planning approach established by Senate Bill 72.

Modernizing Water Policy

The modernization of the California Water Plan is driven by Senate Bill 72 (SB 72). This legislation sets a clear expectation: move statewide water planning from description to direction. The Water Plan will be modernized to:

• Identify and evaluate effective water management strategies, informed by economic considerations
• Quantify beneficial uses of water at a watershed scale throughout California
• Expand engagement across all sectors as DWR develops the Water Plan
• Establish clear water supply targets that help align state, regional, and local actions

What the 2028 Water Plan Will Do

DWR will produce a modernized Water Plan that:

• Builds a clear understanding of statewide water supply and demand gaps, now and into the future
• Identifies effective, local, regional, and statewide water management strategies
• Establishes an interim statewide planning goal to identify 9 million acre-feet of additional water supply by 2040
• Lays the groundwork for setting measurable, watershed-level and statewide targets in future Water Plan updates
• Carefully considers future water supply needs for beneficial uses of water

Opportunities to Participate

Californians will have opportunities to help shape CWP 2028 through Advisory Committee meetings, regional forums, California Water Commission briefings, and topic-specific workshops. Regional forums beginning later this year will bring together local agencies, water managers, Tribes, and the public to discuss regional priorities and inform statewide planning.

Learn more on the public engagement process at CaliforniaWaterPlan.com.