California’s Water Challenges in 2025: Groundwater Recharge, Urban Water Use, and Long-Term Resilience

California’s water crisis is at a turning point. While recent executive orders from Governor Gavin Newsom have focused on capturing stormwater to replenish depleted reserves, long-term water resilience requires a more comprehensive approach. Three recent reports highlight the major challenges and solutions: efforts to preserve groundwater, new strategies to tackle California’s growing water demands, and the potential for large-scale recharge in the Central Valley. Together, these developments outline the urgent need for better water management and policy adaptation in the face of climate change.

Photo by Line Kjær on Unsplash

1. Preserving California’s Groundwater: A New Phase in Management

California has long relied on groundwater to support its agriculture, cities, and industries, but decades of over-extraction have left aquifers dangerously depleted. In response, the state has implemented stricter groundwater management policies, requiring local agencies to develop Sustainability Plans under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). However, enforcing these regulations has proven difficult, as many groundwater basins are still being overdrawn, particularly in agricultural regions.