Gov. Gavin Newsom has unveiled what he’s calling the “most ambitious” water plan in California history by setting a massive supply target — enough water to power 18 million homes by 2040, which he says will help mitigate “climate-driven extremes.”
The plan hinges on Senate Bill 72, which sets a target of 9 million acre-feet of water by 2040 and requires better data collection and planning surrounding the state’s water supply.
“California’s water system is under real strain from longer droughts, stronger storms, and growing demand across our communities and agricultural regions,” state Sen. Anna Caballero, who wrote the bill, said in a statement.
The 9 million target — equivalent to two Shasta Reservoirs, which stores up to 4.55 million acre-feet of water for urban and agricultural use — is the amount of water California could lose “as climate change reduces snowpack and intensifies drought,” according to a news release from Newsom’s office.
The plan focuses on modernizing the state’s sprawling water system and protecting against droughts and storms through conservation programs, stormwater capture, water recycling and other strategies.
The Department of Water Resources is assembling an advisory group to gather input about the plan from different regions in the state.
“California’s hydrology is changing. We’re living that now,” said Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth. “Extreme wet swings to intensely dry within the same season.”
The committee will hold its first meeting in April and have representation from “urban and agricultural water suppliers, tribal, labor, environmental justice and environmental interests, local government, business and other interested parties,” according to Newsom’s office.
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