The Association of California Water Agencies is rolling out a sweeping policy blueprint aimed at elevating water policy as the state prepares for a new governor.
The group on Monday unveiled its Vision for Our Water Future, a framework it says is designed to guide the next governor and lawmakers toward a more resilient and reliable statewide water system.
ACWA framed the effort as both a policy roadmap and a political signal, urging the incoming administration to take a more centralized and aggressive approach to water management.
“Water is foundational to everything California is trying to achieve,” said Chelsea Haines, ACWA’s director of state regulatory relations, adding that the plan calls for “strategic, actionable solutions” and “bold leadership” from the next administration.
The vision document lays out four core priorities: elevating water as a statewide leadership issue, protecting affordability, delivering major infrastructure investments, and modernizing management and permitting systems.
The report emphasizes that California’s water challenges are intensifying, citing climate-driven whiplash between drought and flooding, aging infrastructure and growing demand from housing and agriculture.
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To address those pressures, ACWA is calling for a more coordinated state role. The association recommends establishing a cabinet-level water policy leader, aligning state agencies under unified priorities, and setting a “bold water agenda” within a governor’s first 100 days.
A central theme of the proposal is cost. Local ratepayers already fund more than 85% of California’s water system, raising concerns about affordability as infrastructure and regulatory costs climb, according to ACWA.
It is urging the state to create a long-term, reliable funding source for water projects and to better coordinate existing funding streams to speed project delivery and reduce costs.
The vision also presses for significant upgrades to the state’s “backbone” systems — the State Water Project and Central Valley Project — alongside a push for a Delta tunnel and expanded groundwater recharge and water transfers.
The group is targeting regulatory reform as well. The plan calls for streamlining permitting, integrating requirements across agencies, and setting clearer timelines for approvals to accelerate projects.
ACWA’s report underscores water’s central role across sectors, noting it underpins California’s $4 trillion economy, supports a $60 billion agricultural industry, and is essential to meeting housing goals of 2.5 million new units over the next decade.
ACWA President Ernie Avila said the initiative is meant to unify business, labor and water leaders around shared priorities and move beyond incremental fixes.
“Securing California’s future requires more than incremental fixes,” said Avila, in a statement. “It demands a fundamental shift to achieve outcomes.”
