From the Department of Water Resources:
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has released the Fall 2026 – California’s Groundwater Conditions, Semi-Annual Update, which provides a look back at California’s groundwater conditions during Water Year 2026 and the efforts to prepare for future recharge opportunities. The report documents local progress under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), alongside persistent challenges that require sustained management. Building on decades of recharge experience, State and local agencies are working to ensure infrastructure, agreements, and operational plans are in place to capture and store legally available water when wet conditions arrive—helping reduce flood impacts and strengthen groundwater supplies for future dry periods.
The potential for strong El Niño during the 2026–27 winter adds another source of uncertainty to California’s water-supply outlook. This uncertainty also presents a potential opportunity to improve the groundwater conditions in California. Through SGMA implementation, local agencies have identified close to 500 recharge projects and management actions, including 331 with projected benefits totaling approximately 1.52 million acre-feet per year. Of these, 149 are ongoing or completed, representing approximately 545,000 acre-feet per year in projected recharge benefits. In response to the potential for a strong El Niño and associated flood risks, Governor Newsom issued a State of Emergency proclamation on September 21, 2026, directing state agencies to advance preparedness for the coming winter. The proclamation highlights groundwater recharge as a part of the preparedness by directing DWR, in coordination with the State Water Resources Control Board, to conduct outreach and education to support groundwater recharge efforts under existing law, with the goal of reducing flood impacts and strengthening local water supplies. DWR is supporting State and local coordination through its 2026–27 Recharge Readiness Webinar Series, Flood-MAR program, and tools to help water managers prepare for high-flow events. Together, these efforts can help replenish groundwater supplies, reduce flood impacts, and strengthen resilience for future dry periods, while continued groundwater declines and land subsidence underscore the need for sustained management.
Semi-Annual Groundwater Updates include data and discussion on statewide groundwater levels, land subsidence, well infrastructure, groundwater reporting improvements, and the status of California’s groundwater basins. DWR produces Groundwater Updates semi-annually in spring and fall to help State and local agencies make management decisions informed by the latest conditions.
These semi-annual updates support DWR’s comprehensive California’s Groundwater (Bulletin 118) publication; the Department released California’s Groundwater Update 2025 on March 12, 2026. Together, Bulletin 118, Semi-Annual Updates, and California’s Groundwater Live provide knowledge and understanding about California’s groundwater system that is necessary for State and local agencies to plan and implement management actions that will help to ensure long-term resiliency of the state’s groundwater supply.
For more information about this update and additional groundwater information, see the following resources:
- Blog Article: Achieving Groundwater Sustainability While Preparing for El Niño
- California’s Groundwater Semi-Annual Updates
- California’s Groundwater (Bulletin 118)
- California’s Groundwater Live
- Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA)
- Groundwater Recharge (ca.gov)
- Subsidence (ca.gov)
For general inquiries, please contact: sgmps@water.ca.gov and for inquires related to the latest groundwater information, please contact: CalGW@water.ca.gov.
