DWR Unveils New Vision to Strengthen Water Management and Climate Resilience in San Joaquin Valley

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The San Joaquin Valley is at a turning point, where long-standing complex and interconnected water management challenges are intensifying with climate change and creating mounting pressures for communities, agriculture, and ecosystems. To confront these growing pressures, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) has developed A Vision for the San Joaquin Valley, an integrated plan with near- and long-term strategies to strengthen water management and climate resilience.

"Decades of severe groundwater overdraft and accelerating climate conditions have put the San Joaquin Valley on an unsustainable path," said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. "This vision provides the necessary framework for climate-resilient water management, aligning partners and guiding coordinated action to safeguard communities, agriculture, and ecosystems across the region."

This vision document builds on findings from three recently released DWR planning documents, the State Water Project Adaptation Strategy, San Joaquin Valley Conveyance Study, and the San Joaquin Basin Watershed Studies, to provide a coordinated roadmap to guide future investments and needed policy improvements.

The vision prioritizes near-term actions that can deliver benefits quickly, such as pilot projects that capture high flows during wet years and store water underground. These efforts can provide multiple benefits, including flood protection, improved water supply, ecosystem support, and greater equity. A key focus is raising groundwater levels to reduce damaging land subsidence, which is currently reducing the capacity of key state and federal canals to deliver water where it is needed.

To make local implementation easier, the document focuses on working with state agencies to support local agencies through regulatory reforms that streamline recharge permitting and reduce administrative barriers as well as offering new tools like a public dashboard to help identify recharge opportunities. Long-term investments and policy changes focus on subsidence remediation and moving forward with critical water storage and conveyance projects.

The vision highlights a proactive and supportive State role in partnering with local agencies and communities to help address major challenges, while recognizing that even the most optimistic water management solutions will likely need to be paired with difficult but necessary land repurposing.

This innovative vision for the San Joaquin Valley is consistent with the new era of water planning in California, mandated by Senate Bill 72 (Caballero) which was signed by Governor Newsom in 2025. The modern California Water Plan will be more integrated, action-oriented, target-based, and based on real-world conditions that communities are experiencing under increasingly hotter, more extreme weather. As DWR develops California Water Plan 2028, efforts like this will serve as critical building blocks, helping to align regional investments with long-term statewide water supply goals and ensuring that planning leads to implementation on the ground.

Public Comment

A San Joaquin Valley Water Resilience Summit, hosted by the California Water Institute and sponsored by DWR, will be held at California State University, Fresno on May 21 and 22. The summit will provide an opportunity to present the vision and related planning documents, engage interested parties, and discuss pathways for advancing priority actions and building partnerships. Additional details will be shared as the event approaches.

The Vision for the San Joaquin Valley is available for public comment now until July 21, 2026. Public comments can be submitted to [email protected].

Contact:

Marina Gelpi Clay, Public Affairs, Department of Water Resources
[email protected]