Central Coast

2022 Annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment Summary Report

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | November 22nd, 2022

This summary report contains projected water shortage information at the urban water supplier level as well as regional and statewide analyses of water supply conditions

This summary report contains projected water shortage information at the urban water supplier level as well as regional and statewide analyses of water supply conditions and is intended to inform the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board). Additionally, the report includes information on water shortage response actions taken by urban water suppliers as a result of their Annual Water Supply and Demand Assessments (Annual Assessments), and urban water suppliers’ compliance statistics with respect to their Annual Water Shortage Assessment Report (Annual Shortage Report) submittals. The purpose of this Annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment Summary Report (Summary Report) is to fulfill the California Water Code (CWC) §10644(c)(1)(B) requirements and it is due on or before September 30, 2022, and every year thereafter. The full text of the CWC section regarding the Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) Summary Report to the State Water Board is presented below for reference.

2022 Drinking Water Needs Assessment

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | April 30th, 2022

The Needs Assessment is comprised of Risk, Affordability, and Cost Assessment components. Enhancement of the 2022 Needs Assessment consisted of internal workgroup recomme

The Needs Assessment is comprised of Risk, Affordability, and Cost Assessment components. Enhancement of the 2022 Needs Assessment consisted of internal workgroup recommendations and a public workshop in February 2022, all of which were detailed in a publicly available white paper. The public feedback was incorporated into the final methodology and results. Three different water system types: public water systems, state small water systems and domestic wells, are analyzed within the 2022 Needs Assessment. Different methodologies were developed for these system types based on data availability and reliability.

2023 Annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment Summary Report

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | September 30th, 2023

This annual report summarizes the Department of Water Resources’ (DWR’s) review of Urban Water Suppliers’ Annual Water Shortage Assessment Reports (Annual Shortage

This annual report summarizes the Department of Water Resources’ (DWR’s) review of Urban Water Suppliers’ Annual Water Shortage Assessment Reports (Annual Shortage Reports) for the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board). As directed by the California Water Code (CWC) §10644(c)(1)(B), this summary report includes water shortage information at the supplier level, as well as regional and statewide analyses of water supply conditions.

2023 Drinking Water Needs Assessment

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | April 30th, 2023

The Needs Assessment is comprised of four core components: the Failing Water System List (Failing list), the Risk Assessment, the Cost Assessment, and the Affordability A

The Needs Assessment is comprised of four core components: the Failing Water System List (Failing list), the Risk Assessment, the Cost Assessment, and the Affordability Assessment. Public input that the State Water Board received via workshops held in 2022 and February 2023 helped improve the 2023 Needs Assessment.

2023 Water Resilience Portfolio Progress Report

California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) | October 31st, 2023

2024 Annual Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program Report

California Department of Conservation (CDoC) | May 29th, 2025

The Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program (MLRP) increases regional capacity for repurposing irrigated agricultural land to uses that reduce reliance on groundwater while

The Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program (MLRP) increases regional capacity for repurposing irrigated agricultural land to uses that reduce reliance on groundwater while providing community health, economic well-being, water supply, habitat, renewable energy, and climate benefits. The program provides funding for regional block grants, tribal grants, and a Statewide Support Entity to provide technical assistance to block grantees and support progress toward program goals.

2024 Annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment Summary Report

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | October 1st, 2024

This report summarizes the Department of Water Resources’ (DWR’s) review of Urban Water Suppliers’ Annual Water Shortage Assessment Reports (Annual Shortage Reports

This report summarizes the Department of Water Resources’ (DWR’s) review of Urban Water Suppliers’ Annual Water Shortage Assessment Reports (Annual Shortage Reports) for the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board). As directed by the California Water Code (CWC) §10644(c)(1)(B), this summary report includes water shortage information at the supplier level, as well as regional and statewide analyses of water supply conditions.

2025 Agricultural Water Management Plan Guidebook (Draft)

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | July 23rd, 2025

The 2025 Agricultural Water Management Plan Guidebook (Guidebook) was prepared by DWR to assist agricultural water suppliers in understanding and complying with the requi

The 2025 Agricultural Water Management Plan Guidebook (Guidebook) was prepared by DWR to assist agricultural water suppliers in understanding and complying with the requirements of the Agricultural Water Management Planning Act (Division 6, Part 2.8 of the California Water Code), the Agricultural Water Measurement Regulation (Title 23, Division 2, Chapter 5.1, Article 2 of the California Code of Regulations), and AB 1668 Water Management Planning (Friedman, Statute of 2018). This Guidebook is intended to clearly identify information and elements required by the California Water Code (Water Code), provide guidance on how Agricultural Water Suppliers can address these requirements, and identify potential additional information Agricultural Water Suppliers can include in order to develop plans that are useful for their own operations and management and to improve long-term system reliability. This Guidebook also describes how Water Conservation Plans (WCPs) submitted to the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), and Urban Water Management Plans (UWMPs) submitted to DWR, can be supplemented to satisfy the Water Code and Agricultural Water Measurement Regulation requirements.

21st century California drought risk linked to model fidelity of the El Niño teleconnection

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | September 3rd, 2018

Greenhouse gas-induced climate change is expected to lead to negative hydrological impacts for southwestern North America, including California (CA). This includes a decr

Greenhouse gas-induced climate change is expected to lead to negative hydrological impacts for southwestern North America, including California (CA). This includes a decrease in the amount and frequency of precipitation, reductions in Sierra snow pack, and an increase in evapotranspiration, all of which imply a decline in surface water availability, and an increase in drought and stress on water resources. However, a recent study showed the importance of tropical Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) warming and an El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-like teleconnection in driving an increase in CA precipitation through the 21st century, particularly during winter (DJF). Here, we extend this prior work and show wetter (drier) CA conditions, based on several drought metrics, are associated with an El Niño (La Niña)-like SST pattern. Models that better simulate the observed ENSO-CA precipitation teleconnection also better simulate the ENSO-CA drought relationships, and yield negligible change in the risk of 21st century CA drought, primarily due to wetting during winter. Seasonally, however, CA drought risk is projected to increase during the non-winter months, particularly in the models that poorly simulate the observed teleconnection. Thus, future projections of CA drought are dependent on model fidelity of the El Niño teleconnection. As opposed to focusing on adapting to less water, models that better simulate the teleconnection imply adaptation measures focused on smoothing seasonal differences for affected agricultural, terrestrial, and aquatic systems, as well as effectively capturing enhanced winter runoff.

A 20,000-year record of ocean circulation and climate change from the Santa Barbara basin

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | October 12th, 1995

MUCH of the evidence for climate-driven fluctuations in ocean circulation during the past 20,000 years has come from studies of the North Atlantic region. The extent to w

MUCH of the evidence for climate-driven fluctuations in ocean circulation during the past 20,000 years has come from studies of the North Atlantic region. The extent to which such interactions have occurred in other ocean basins, and any associated teleconnec-tions between basins, is poorly understood. Here we present high-resolution palaeoclimate and palaeoceanographic records from a 20,000-year sedimentary sequence from the Santa Barbara basin, on the eastern margin of the North Pacific Ocean. The sequence shows oscillations of the benthic environment between low-oxygen conditions (laminated sediments) during periods of warm climate, and higher-oxygen conditions (non-laminated, bioturbated sediments) during cool intervals. Age differences between coexisting benthic and planktonic foraminifers indicate climate-related changes in the age and source-and, hence, oxygen content-of basin bottom waters. Relatively young bottom waters are associated with the cooler intervals and are considered to reflect high proportions of intermediate waters derived from proximal sources. Conversely, older bottom waters are associated with the warmer intervals and were derived from more distal sources. These climate-driven variations in ocean circulation appear to be synchronous with the main ocean-climate fluctuations in the North Atlantic region, suggesting that a tight coupling mechanism operates between the two basins.