Donate
Independent, objective, nonpartisan research
Image for PPIC Water Policy Center

PPIC Water Policy Center

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

photo - Irrigated Wheat Field, pixel-ca-dwr-2015_03_20_JC_6224_Crop_Fields
Report · June 2026

SGMA-Ready Crops as a Low-Water Alternative to Fallowing

photo- Farmer in Tractor
Policy Brief · June 2026

Policy Brief: The Financial Viability and Broader Benefits of SGMA-Ready Crops

photo - Chumash Tribal Pow Wow
Report · May 2026

Tribal Water Rights in California

View More Publications

Blog Posts

View More →
photo - Close Up of Man's Forearms Just under the Water as he Swims in the Merced River in Yosemite
June 25, 2026

AI Predicts Natural River Flows in California. Could It Do More?

Annalise Blum

photo - Chumash Tribal Pow Wow
June 15, 2026

The Essential Role of Tribes in Regional Water Management

Vicki Hsieh

photo - Portrait of a Boy in a Ranch Hat Looking at the Camera
June 8, 2026

Agriculture and Water Use on California’s Tribal Lands

Spencer Cole

photo - Wildfire in Yosemite National Park
May 27, 2026

The Art and Science of Transforming California’s Forests

Sarah Bardeen

photo - Holding Fish in Palm of Hands, pixel-ca-dwr-2026_01_16_NS_0424_DISE_Fremont_Weir
May 18, 2026

A Conversation with CDFW’s New Director, Meghan Hertel

Sarah Bardeen

photo - Four Cranes, pixel-ca-dwr-2026_02_05_NS_0610_Staten_Island_Sandhill_Cranes
May 11, 2026

The Case for Investing in the Delta

Sarah Bardeen

Events

View More →

Tribal Water Rights in California

June 4, 2026

Fact Sheets

View More →
photo - Woman Tying Tule Reeds by Water, water-ca-dwr-2025_07_25_AN_0169_Tule_Boat_Festival
May 2026

Tribal Water Rights and Water Use in California

Brian Gray, Letitia Grenier

photo - Woman Testing Water on Feather River, pixel-ca-dwr-KMG_feather_river-06916
February 2026

Water Quality in California

Annalise Blum, Spencer Cole

photo - Merced River at Sunrise
January 2026

California’s Rivers and Streams

Jeffrey Mount, Annalise Blum, Ted Grantham

photo - Colorado River at Sunset
March 2025

The Colorado River

Gokce Sencan, Brian Gray

photo - Forest Fire in Northern California
March 2025

Headwaters and Wildfire in California

Kyle Greenspan, Bradley Franklin

Video

photo - Flooded road warning sign

Drought and Floods in California

photo - Fourth Media Snow Survey of the 2026 Season, pixel-ca-dwr-2026_04_01_AN_0477_Snow_Survey
Featured Blog Post · May 4, 2026

A Whiplash Spring and California’s Water Supply

Read More →

Key Areas

Fact Cards

Rivers generate 15% of the state’s electricity.
→
8 Inches the California sea level has risen already over the past century.
→
1 in 5 Californians are vulnerable to flooding.
→
40% Share of California land used for agriculture, or about 40 million acres.
→
750K The number of Californians who lack access to safe and reliable drinking water.
→
Half of Californians—or 20 million people—are supplied by California’s share of the Colorado River.
→
About 40% of water used by California cities and farms comes from underground aquifers.
→
30 million people and 6 million acres of farmland depend on water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed.
→