California Water Rates and the “New Normal”

Pacific Institute | June 9th, 2013

Water service providers are facing new challenges in forecasting and preparing for future water demand, staying fiscally solvent while providing fair prices, incorporatin

Water service providers are facing new challenges in forecasting and preparing for future water demand, staying fiscally solvent while providing fair prices, incorporating conservation and efficiency, and communicating clearly to customers about rates and service. Beginning in 2012, the Pacific Institute conducted an extensive survey and series of workshops on water rates and finances to better understand how water is priced by more than a thousand different water providers in California, both public and private – and to help agencies identify effective rate-making strategies. The resulting Need To Know: Water Rates series (see below), released in partnership with the Alliance for Water Efficiency and the Community Water Center, highlights strategies that help water service providers cope with the “new normal” or an era of decreased water demand due to a variety of factors from weather to the economy to increased conservation and efficiency. In the spring of 2013, the first white paper on the Institute’s Water Rates Survey and research was also released. This new research analyzes different rate structures that can be used to accommodate this “new normal” so that a utility is able to meet costs and ensure resiliency in an uncertain future. The most common water rate structures – flat fees, uniform rates, block rates, and water budget rates – require varying levels of financial, institutional, and human capacity to implement, and so choosing between them means evaluating whether the potential benefits are greater than the cost to provide the necessary capacity. The white paper An Overview of the “New Normal” and Water Rate Basics examines the rate structures and the characteristics of the new normal, which includes more uncertain water supply; new legislation, codes, and standards; and overall increasing costs to provide a safe drinking water supply.

California Water Resilience Portfolio

State of California | July 28th, 2020

California Water Solutions Now

Environmental Water Caucus | January 1st, 2011

California is in the grip of a water crisis of our own making. Like all problems that humans create, we have the potential to use the crisis as an opportunity to make pos

California is in the grip of a water crisis of our own making. Like all problems that humans create, we have the potential to use the crisis as an opportunity to make positive and long-lasting changes in water management. The crisis is not a water shortage – California has already developed sufficient water supplies to take us well into this century – the real crisis is that this supply is not used efficiently or equitably for all Californians, nor is it used wisely to sustain the ecosystems that support us. The opportunity – and the basis for our positive vision – is that economically and technologically feasible measures are readily available to provide the water needed for our future. Our vision includes providing clean water for families to drink, providing water to improve the environmental health of our once-magnificent rivers, recovering our fisheries from the edges of extinction, fostering healthy commercial and recreational fisheries and a thriving agricultural industry, ensuring that all California communities have access to safe and affordable drinking water, and contributing significantly to the state’s largest industries: recreation and tourism. This report documents numerous analyses of water efficient technologies and approaches that can save or reduce water consumption in urban areas by as much as 5 million acre-feet a year by 2030 compared with current trends – enough water to support population growth of almost 30,000,000 people. According to the California Water Plan Update 2009 and Department of Finance projections, the state’s population can be expected to increase by 22,000,000 over the next 40 years if current population trends hold. Clearly, a well-managed future water supply to take us to 2050 is within reach with the current supplies and with an aggressive water conservation program. In addition, still larger savings can be expected from agricultural water efficiencies, and some of this saved water could be available for urban consumption. All of the water conservation strategies discussed in this report are much less expensive than the new surface storage and conveyance projects being contemplated by state and federal agencies.

California Water Supply And Demand: Technical Report

Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) | February 10th, 2011

The California Water Supply and Demand Model (CWSD) examines the ways in which California’s water supply and demand are likely to be affected by climate change; its pur

The California Water Supply and Demand Model (CWSD) examines the ways in which California’s water supply and demand are likely to be affected by climate change; its purpose is to serve as a base for quantifying these impacts in economic terms. California’s water future is modeled under conditions of no adaptation to climate change, and under several projected water use adaptation scenarios taken from the literature; climate change adaptation scenarios include water used for energy, the urban or residential sector, and agriculture. The main CWSD compares key categories of water inputs and outputs on a month-by-month basis to capture seasonality in water availability. A supplementary model allows for the main model’s beginning surface reservoir storage to result from water supply and demand interactions over a stylized previous 100 years. Three areas of water use are both especially critical and vulnerable to climatic change: the energy, agriculture, and urban sectors. In the energy module, water demand is a based on different scenarios of coal, nuclear and renewable power use, conservation technology, state population trends, and projected temperatures. In the agriculture module, crop and animal water use by county is a function of projected summer temperatures by county. In the urban module, residential, industrial/commercial, and public water use are based on projected levels of socio-economic growth.

California's Central Valley Groundwater Wells Run Dry During Recent Drought

American Geophysical Union (AGU) | February 27th, 2020

Declining water tables are causing wells to run dry in California, but the prevalence and spatial distribution of wells that have run dry are not known beyond anecdotal a

Declining water tables are causing wells to run dry in California, but the prevalence and spatial distribution of wells that have run dry are not known beyond anecdotal and voluntary reports. Here, we apply a new, simple, and measurement‐driven method to calculate a localized water table; we show, for the first time using observations, that up to one‐in‐five wells now runs dry in California's Central Valley. The spatial distribution of wells identified as having dried up replicates hot spots of wells identified as having run dry in a voluntary reporting system, while also capturing impacts on groundwater wells that have not reportedly run dry. We assess the rates of drilling throughout the Central Valley and find, surprisingly, that domestic wells are being drilled deeper at a rate that exceeds agricultural wells across much of the central Central Valley. Because new groundwater wells are costly (i.e., $10,000 to $100,000), we suggest explicitly considering dry wells in groundwater sustainability planning to protect homes and farms from the loss of access to reliable water supplies in the future.

California's Future

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | January 18th, 2018

Water management in California has always been challenging. The state’s variable climate is marked by long droughts and severe floods, with stark regional differences i

Water management in California has always been challenging. The state’s variable climate is marked by long droughts and severe floods, with stark regional differences in water availability and demand. California has adapted by building a vast network of storage and conveyance facilities to deliver water from the wetter parts of the state to population and farming centers in the Bay Area, the San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California. The Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta is a fragile link in the state’s water supply network, and a plan to address supply reliability, known as California WaterFix, faces many hurdles. California’s extensive network of dams is aging. Agricultural demand is becoming less flexible, as farmers are increasing tree crops (especially nuts), which must be watered every year. Conflicts are growing between human water use and water needed to support fish and other wildlife. And the latest cycle of droughts and floods provides a glimpse of an uncertain future under climate change. California’s water management challenges are complex, but they can be addressed. Solutions will involve difficult and sometimes costly trade-offs, as well as contentious legal and political changes.

California's Groundwater Conditions: Semi-Annual Update May 2025

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | June 24th, 2025

This semi-annual report presents data received by DWR as of April 2025 and reflects the impacts of a few wet years after a drought period. However, it should be noted tha

This semi-annual report presents data received by DWR as of April 2025 and reflects the impacts of a few wet years after a drought period. However, it should be noted that groundwater response is a slow process and may take months to years to fully respond to changes in surface water conditions. This report is the latest in a series of Semi-Annual Groundwater Conditions Updates, last published in October 2024. These updates are part of the informational resources associated with DWR’s California’s Groundwater (Bulletin 118). The most recent groundwater data is available on the California’s Groundwater Live website, which is updated daily as data is received by DWR. Additional data and information are available in the CNRA Open Data and Water Data Library websites.

California's Groundwater Update 2025 (Bulletin 118)

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | October 20th, 2025

California’s Groundwater: Bulletin 118 — Update 2025 (CalGW Update 2025) is a compendium of statewide data and information on the occurrence, nature, use, and conditi

California’s Groundwater: Bulletin 118 — Update 2025 (CalGW Update 2025) is a compendium of statewide data and information on the occurrence, nature, use, and conditions of California’s groundwater resources and management. Chapters 1-6 Chapter 7 Appendix A: Findings and Recommendations Appendix B: Glossary Appendix D: Citations, Reference Materials, and Links Appendix I: Land Subsidence  

California's Water Supply Strategy: Adapting to a Hotter, Drier Future

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | August 16th, 2022

California's Water Supply Strategy: Adapting to a Hotter, Drier Future

Office of Governor Gavin Newsom | August 11th, 2022