State Water Project Allocation Increased to 15%

Earlier this week, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced an update to the State Water Project (SWP) allocation forecast for 2025. The allocation has increased to 15 percent of requested supplies, up from the initial allocation forecast of 5 percent announced earlier this month. The SWP provides water to 29 public water agencies that serve 27 million Californians.  DWR is crediting strong storms in late November and early December that have helped boost statewide precipitation to just above average for this time of year. Reservoir levels have also increased because of the storms. The initial allocation forecast announced on December 2 had not accounted for these storms because the data was not yet available to water managers.  “The past several weeks has brought welcome rain and snow to Northern California and these improved conditions have allowed the State Water Project to increase the allocation forecast to the benefit of millions of Californians,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “While we typically wait to provide an update until January, we felt it is important to let our State Water Contractors know of the increase as soon as possible to allow them to better plan their water supply for the year ahead.”  The next update will likely come in January and will use information from the first snow surveys of the season.