(The Center Square) – State officials in California have announced the implementation of a statewide water-saving plan meant to conserve water resources amid worsening climate change.
“Climate change is reshaping life in California through historic droughts and record storms that threaten the farms that feed the nation, communities that depend on reliable water, and the environment we all share,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a news release sent on Feb. 25. “The 2028 Water Plan is a commitment to every Californian that we will capture, store, and conserve the water our state — the 4th largest economy in the world — needs to thrive, no matter what climate change throws at us.”
The program, born out of a successful 2025 bill by state Sen. Anna Caballero, D-Fresno, would update California’s current water program by using data from watersheds throughout the state to help close gaps between water demand and supply. The push to update the state’s water program comes from concerns that worsening climate change is depleting the state’s already-sensitive water supply.
Legislators who sit on water-related committees, while they are anticipating discussion this week over the state’s California Water Plan 2028, said they haven’t yet seen the plan and aren’t able to comment.
However, Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez, R-Indio and vice chair of the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee, said on Monday that he wants to see a real plan for how to fund the goals of the California Water Plan.
“Strategic planning – that’s the biggest thing that I always look for,” Gonzalez told The Center Square. “Are we looking at today’s infrastructure, tomorrow’s infrastructure and planning, and do we have money allocated for it? If we’re just creating a plan for no money, how are we going to accomplish what we need to accomplish?”
According to the Department of Water Resources, climate change could cause the state to lose up to 9 million acre-feet of water by 2040, equivalent to roughly two Shasta Reservoirs. Warmer temperatures are projected to make California lose 48% to 65% of the Sierra Nevada mountain range’s snowpack, and lead to more severe drought and flood seasons in the state.
The state requires the Department of Water Resources to update its plan to conservation and use of water in California every five years, according to Caballero’s bill.
Officials with the Department of Water Resources and the California Water Commission were unavailable to answer questions from The Center Square on Monday. Officials with water districts throughout the state were unable or unavailable to answer questions from The Center Square.
