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By Anna Skinner
Associate News Editor
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California officials have launched the most ambitious water‑management overhaul in state history, introducing the California Water Plan 2028 with a landmark goal: developing nine million acre‑feet of additional water supply by 2040.
The target, equivalent to twice the size of Lake Shasta, California's largest reservoir, aims to counteract mounting losses from shrinking snowpack, rising temperatures, and intensifying drought cycles. The plan marks the first time California has ever established a statewide water‑supply benchmark and represents a structural shift toward proactively closing water‑supply gaps widened by climate‑driven extremes.
Nine million acre-feet is equivalent to 2.93 trillion gallons of water.
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“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,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a California Department of Water Resources (DWR) press release announcing the new plan. “The 2028 Water Plan is a commitment to every Californian that we will capture, store, and conserve the water our state—the fourth largest economy in the world—needs to thrive, no matter what climate change throws at us.”
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How Does California Plan to Increase Water Supply?
State officials say the nine million acre‑feet goal will be met through a suite of strategies that collectively expand capture, storage, and conservation. These include new and expanded water storage, large‑scale groundwater recharge, nature‑based solutions, and improved statewide water‑use data to better forecast regional supply gaps.
"The goal of the plan will be, among other things, to identify those kinds of resources starting in 2028," DWR Deputy Director of Communications Ryan Endean told Newsweek. "Some examples could include the proposed Sites Reservoir, modernizing our aging infrastructure, improving reservoir operations to adapt to climate change, and expanding groundwater recharge."
Is California in a Drought?
As of the most recent update from the U.S. Drought Monitor, California remains completely free from drought. At the same time last year, nearly 15 percent of the state was in extreme drought, with more than 41 percent battling some form of drought.
Despite the positive drought outlook and several recent wet seasons, California remains highly vulnerable to drought. State leaders emphasize that climate‑driven hydrologic whiplash—rapid transitions between deluge and drought—has fundamentally altered long‑term water reliability.
“California’s hydrology is changing,” DWR Director Karla Nemeth said in the DWR press release. “We’re living that now. Extreme wet swings to intensely dry within the same season. The work of crafting the next California Water Plan will help us plan smarter to deal with the way climate change is testing our water systems.”
This year’s Water Plan launch comes after a series of historic dry periods that left reservoirs depleted, groundwater overdrawn, and snowpack dramatically below average in multiple years of the past decade. Officials warn that even adequate rainfall in one year does not erase the risk of structural drought, as California is projected to lose water supply due to warming temperatures and declining mountain snowpack.
The nine‑million‑acre‑feet target is designed to replace the volume of water California expects to lose over the long term as climate pressures intensify.
California Reservoir Water Levels
Reservoirs have swung from historic lows during recent drought years to near‑ or above‑average levels following intense winter storms—but officials underscore that these gains are temporary without structural improvements.
Currently, California's reservoirs are performing very well, with DWR data revealing that all major reservoirs in the state are at or above 100 percent of their average level during this time of year. Some reservoirs, such as Cachuma Lake and Lake Casitas, are at full capacity.
Recently, the DWR expressed concern about regional snowpack levels, which were only 59 percent of average statewide as of the most recent snow survey at the end of January. Snowpack greatly supplements California reservoir water levels during the warmer months. Despite the low levels, back-to-back winter storms slammed California in February, dumping several feet of snow across the Sierra Nevada, so it's possible the snowpack has recovered in time for the next snow survey, scheduled for March.
The new California Water Plan is directly intertwined with Senate Bill 72, which mandates the modernization of statewide water planning and establishes the framework guiding this overhaul. SB 72 requires the DWR to improve data collection, set measurable water‑supply targets, and create a coordinated planning structure aligning state, regional, and local actions—requirements that underpin the Water Plan 2028’s first phase.
The first major public meeting tied to the California Water Plan 2028 will take place in April, when the newly formed advisory committee—comprising urban and agricultural water suppliers, tribes, environmental justice groups, labor, and business representatives—convenes to shape the plan’s next steps.
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