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PPIC Water Policy Center

The PPIC Water Policy Center spurs innovative water management solutions that support a healthy economy, environment, and society—now and for future generations.

photo - Bridgeport Valley in Spring
Report · November 2023

Priorities for California’s Water

photo - Farmers Shaking Hands in Field
Report · September 2023

Managing Water and Farmland Transitions in the San Joaquin Valley

photo - Dripping Faucet
Fact Sheet · April 2023

Water Use in California

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Blog Posts

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photo - A flooded Houlihan Park in Merced County
January 16, 2024

Commentary: Californians Need to Do More to Prepare for Wet Years

Letitia Grenier, Ellen Hanak

photo - orange poppies during California superbloom
January 9, 2024

A Look Back at 2023’s Volatile Year in Water

Letitia Grenier

photo - Flooded Rice Fields in Colusa County, California
December 11, 2023

Addressing Groundwater Overdraft in the Sacramento Valley

Spencer Cole, Kyle Greenspan, Andrew Ayres

photo - California Wildfire Burns near Residential Area
December 6, 2023

Wildfire Smoke Is a Threat to Children’s Health

Shalini Mustala

photo - Aqueducts Traveling through Merced County-california-pixel-ca-dwr-2023_05_13_ZZ_0017_CVP_SWP_Aqueduct
December 5, 2023

New Progress in California Water Rights Reform

Sarah Bardeen

photo - Man Planting Tree in Park
November 28, 2023

A Better Way to Promote Urban Water Conservation

David Mitchell, Ellen Hanak

Events

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Stewarding California’s Wet Years

November 14, 2023

Video

photo - Flooded road warning sign

Drought and Floods in California

Fact Sheets

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photo - Dripping Faucet
April 2023

Water Use in California

Jeffrey Mount, Ellen Hanak, Caitlin Peterson

photo - Cultivated Fields with Irrigation
April 2023

Water Use in California’s Agriculture

Caitlin Peterson, Alvar Escriva-Bou, Josué Medellín-Azuara, Spencer Cole

photo - Water Faucet with Hand and Glass
April 2023

Water Use in California’s Communities

Andrew Ayres, Caitlin Peterson, Annabelle Rosser

photo - Whitewater River in Forest
April 2023

Water Use in California’s Environment

Jeffrey Mount, Caitlin Peterson, Gokce Sencan

Featured Blog Post · September 27, 2023

The Weird Weather of 2023: Better Get Used to It

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Key Areas

Fact Cards

30 million people and 6 million acres of farmland depend on water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed.
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Landscaping accounts for about half of California’s urban water use.
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About 40% of water used by California cities and farms comes from underground aquifers.
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Southern California’s cities and suburbs rely on the dwindling Colorado River for about one-third of their water.
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Who uses water in California?
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240+ The number of endangered or vulnerable California freshwater species.
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Most California water systems that fail to meet safety standards are in rural, low-income communities of color.
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California added more than 5 million people since 1990, yet urban water use changed little.
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The past 20 years have been the warmest in California history, making droughts more intense.
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Two-thirds of dams in California are more than 50 years old.
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1 in 5 Californians are vulnerable to flooding.
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