1. How do I get a copy of the Water Plan?

The five volumes of the Update, the Highlights document, and the introductory video, "Water for Tomorrow," are contained on the CD and DVD below and also available online at www.waterplan.water.ca.gov.

The final printed report is available through DWR Publications.
For printed copies of Bulletin 160-05, The California Water Plan Update, contact:

California Department of Water Resources
Attn: Publications and Paperwork Management Office
P.O. Box 942836
Sacramento, CA 94236-0001
(916) 653-1097

For an online order form, go to www.publicaffairs.water.ca.gov/information/pubs.cfm and request .
If you need this publication in alternate form, contact the Public Affairs Office, 1-800-272-8869

2. Are some specific recommendations in the report aimed at individual sectors, like agriculture, urban, and environment?

No specific recommendations are pointed toward agricultural, urban, or environmental water users. In most places throughout California Water Plan Update 2005 , recommendations are orientated toward the State government and the water community in general.

As a high level strategic plan, the 14 principal recommendations (page 21 of Highlights, and Volume 1-Chapter 5) focus on State government and California in a general sense. As a related point, page 1-2 in Volume 1 states the California Water Plan has no authority to mandate specific actions or authorize spending.

Specific discussions of some sector issues can be found in Volume 2 (Resource Management Strategies). For example, agricultural issues are discussed in Chapter 2 Agricultural Land Stewardship, and Chapter 3 Agricultural Water Use Efficiency. Urban water use is discussed in Chapters 20, 21 and 22; and environmental water uses are described in Chapters 9 and 25.


3. Where can I find a list of potential water management project options?

California Water Plan Update 2005 does not contain region-specific or project-specific recommendations for future water management options, like those in the previous DWR Bulletin 160-98. Update 2005 changes the focus of the California Water Plan to a high level strategic plan with a framework for ways to meet future water uses and an implementation plan with recommendations for State government and the water management community.

In Volume 1 (The Strategic Plan), Chapter 4 "Planning for an Uncertain Future" provides a statewide discussion of future water needs and describes three possible future water demand conditions, called scenarios. These scenarios are not meant to forecast an actual outcome, but rather provide a number of plausible yet different base conditions for comparing the performance of possible management responses.

Volume 2 (Resource Management Strategies) provides detailed information about the potential for 25 different water management options to meet the State's future needs, including water use efficiency, recycling, groundwater conjunctive use, the role of surface storage (including CALFED), and several other strategies. Figure 1-1 on page 1-5 of Volume 2 shows estimates of the statewide potential of some of these strategies to develop additional water supply benefits.

Volume 3 (Regional Reports) focuses on individual hydrologic regions of the State and two overlay areas. The regional reports provide general information about water issues and needs. An area like Lake County would find information primarily within the Sacramento River regional report (Chapter 6), with information about the Eel River system in the North Coast region (Chapter 2).

Finally, DWR staff has already started the development of additional simulation models and analytical tools, so that we would be able to provide numerical projections of future needs on a regional basis for the next California Water Plan Update in 2009. Although originally planned for use in Update 2005 , the numerical quantification of future water needs was delayed due to issues involving the accuracy of alternative simulation models and the development of the needed data on a statewide basis.