The San Joaquin Valley’s water supply availability is the single most important resource to the Valley’s economic survival, according to the San Joaquin Valley Water System Investment Program report recently published by the California Water Institute.

Aging infrastructure, climate conditions, threatened endangered species, and groundwater overdraft conditions are putting this vital water supply at risk — affecting safe drinking water and creating difficult agricultural conditions. Sources quoted in the report estimate that nearly 1 million acres of the Valley’s productive cropland will be fallowed or abandoned over the next 20 to 30 years due to the need to stabilize the groundwater table.

“The Valley’s economy is dependent on this water supply to support agriculture, which provides employment, tax revenues, growth and innovation,” said the California Water Institute’s Programs Manager Laura Ramos. “The California Water Institute has developed the San Joaquin Valley Water System Investment Program report — a comprehensive plan backed by research — to address our water issues.”

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