The California Water Institute at Fresno State, in coordination with the Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley, released the Unified Water Plan for the San Joaquin Valley. The plan outlines a coordinated approach to address the region’s water supply, infrastructure and long-term water management needs.
The plan estimates the San Joaquin Valley could face a water supply-demand gap of about 2.5 million acre-feet per year by 2040. It provides a framework for moving regional water projects from planning to implementation by identifying strategies involving existing infrastructure, local water management, additional water supplies, funding and partnerships.
“We are at a defining moment for the San Joaquin Valley,” said Laura Ramos, director of the California Water Institute. “The Unified Water Plan provides a practical framework for moving from fragmented project lists to coordinated implementation that supports communities, agriculture, ecosystems and long-term regional resilience.”
Originally authorized in 2009 through U.S. Bureau of Reclamation funding, the Unified Water Plan was developed to coordinate and integrate subregional water management plans into a regional framework. The updated effort reflects changes in the Valley since then, including implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, infrastructure constraints, land transition pressures, ecosystem needs and flood and drought resilience.
The planning effort examined more than 80 groundwater sustainability agencies, 42 groundwater sustainability plans, 16 subbasins and about 800 local projects and actions.
The Unified Water Plan evaluates three broad strategies: restoring the capacity of existing water infrastructure, improving management of water supplies within the Valley and increasing access to Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta water.
The plan finds that restoring existing infrastructure capacity is necessary to preserve baseline water deliveries and support local and regional projects. It also finds that although the region has identified more potential local project capacity than the estimated water-supply-demand gap, implementation will depend on water availability, permitting, economic feasibility, funding, partnerships and local capacity.
The analysis concludes that local projects alone will not be sufficient to address the projected long-term gap and identifies additional access to delta supplies as part of the regional strategy.
Affordability is identified as another significant implementation constraint. The plan notes that state and federal funding and partnerships with urban entities may be needed to advance projects.
The plan also anticipates some agricultural land conversion and calls for coordinated land transition planning that considers environmental, community and economic outcomes.
“Every community in this Valley has a stake in water and every community’s plan is in this document,” said Eddie Ocampo, chairman of the Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley. “For the first time, we can show state and federal partners exactly what the Valley needs, in one voice.”
The full report is available online.
