Evaluating Resource Management Strategies for Update 2013 of the California Water Plan

This paper describes the analytical approach developed by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to evaluate the performance of alternative regional resource management strategies in meeting future water management objectives as part of the 2013 Update of the California Water Plan. The California Water Plan, mandated by state law and updated every five years, is used to guide regional and statewide water policy decisions. An overview is provided of the Plan of Study DWR developed through a rigorous public outreach process to look out to the year 2050 to define multiple plausible future scenarios that consider how future population growth, development patterns, a changing climate, and other uncertainties interact to affect water management. The Water Plan has identified 30 resource management strategies that California's regions can invest in to help reduce water demand, improve operational efficiency and water transfers, increase water supply, improve flood management, improve water quality, and practice resource stewardship. The evaluation of these strategies in Update 2013 will provide decision support and guidance to California's regions and the State legislature about promising investments to improve water management in California.