Newsom Lays Out Big Dreams for California’s Water Future

July 2020

Touting ways to shield California’s most precious resource from climate change, Governor Gavin Newsom released strategies Tuesday to improve drinking water quality, revive a stalled multibillion-dollar tunnel and build new dams.

Newsom says the sweeping water portfolio will help the Golden State prepare for global warming by reinforcing outdated water infrastructure and reducing the state’s reliance on groundwater during future droughts.

“Water is the lifeblood of our state, sustaining communities, wildlife and our economy,” said Newsom in a statement. “For more than a year, my administration has worked to assemble a blueprint to secure this vital and limited resource into the future in a way that builds climate resilience for all communities and sustains native fish and the habitat they need to thrive.”

Newsom kicked off his second year in office in January by announcing the rough draft of the so-called “Water Resilience Portfolio.”