California Ag Water Resources

California Ag Water Resources aims to raise awareness about approaches to agricultural water management that support the viability of agriculture, conserve water, and protect ecological integrity in California. This website is managed by Community Alliance with Family Farmers.

California agriculture has a great opportunity at this time to innovate new solutions, demonstrate leadership in achieving multiple benefits, and forge new partnerships to address these challenges.

Do you rely on a well for irrigation or drinking water?

The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) is changing how California manages its groundwater – and it’s important for you to know what that looks like for your region!

California Ag Water Resources is a compilation of tools and materials to support responsible agricultural water management. The goal of these resources is to enable the continued viability of agriculture in California: supporting farming economies, ensuring quality drinking water, and protecting ecological integrity.

History

This online resource center, originally the California Ag Water Stewardship Initiative (CAWSI), was first conceived of and launched in 2008 by an alliance of agricultural support organizations including the California Institute for Rural Studies, Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Ecological Farming Association, OAEC Water Institute, Polaris Institute, and Wild Farm Alliance. CAWSI was first convened by the Polaris Institute and then by Ag Innovations Network. CAWSI became a project of the California Roundtable on Water and Food Supply in Fall 2011. In early 2014, management of the CAWSI site was transferred to Community Alliance with Family Farmers. In 2025 the site was updated to be California Ag Water Resources, with a new focus on groundwater given California’s implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).  

CAFF is grateful to the original editorial board and authors: Sonja Brodt (UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program), Juliet Christian-Smith (Union of Concerned Scientists), Sarge Green (CSU Fresno California Water Institute), Carolyn Cook (California Department of Food and Agriculture), Doug Parker (California Institute for Water Resources), and Dave Runsten (Community Alliance with Family Farmers). 

Our Team

This website is managed by Community Alliance with Family Farmers. Materials on groundwater are developed with the UC Ag and Natural Resources Small Farms SGMA Team and the UC Davis Small Farmer Legal Clinic. All three work together with the Underrepresented Communities, California Tribes, and Small Farmers Groundwater Technical Assistance Program from the Department of Water Resources.

The Resource Center has been made possible by the generous support of the Columbia Foundation, Gaia Fund, Clif Bar Family Foundation, the USDA Risk Management Agency, and the California Water Foundation. The Resource Center is currently funded, in part, by the California Department of Water Resources.)