Water Supply

• In an average year, California receives approximately 198 million acre-feet, or 64.55 trillion gallons worth of precipitation.

Water Management

• In a typical year, California controls approximately 41.2% of the precipitation it receives, or 26.59 trillion gallons of water for defined purposes.
• In a typical year, California receives approximately 37.96 trillion gallons of water, or 58.8% that go uncontrolled.
• Of the 26.59 trillion gallons of water controlled in the state, water use in a typical year breaks down as follows:
  • Environmental Uses
    • 50.4%
  • Human Uses
    • Agricultural Purposes – 37.7% 
    • Municipal and Industrial Purposes – 8.8% 

Water Uses

• In a typical year, California’s farms utilize approximately 8.2 trillion gallons of water to grow food and fiber.
• On average, it requires approximately 9.9 trillion gallons of water to produce the food needed to sustain California’s population every year.
• In a typical year, California’s cities and other industries use approximately 2.34 trillion gallons of water.
• In a typical year California dedicates approximately 13.42 trillion gallons of water to environmental purposes.

• There are 14 crops grown exclusively in California. They are almonds, artichokes, dates, figs, grapes (raisins), kiwis, olives, peaches (clingstone), pistachios, plums (dried/prunes), pomegranates, rice (sweet), seed (ladino clover) & walnuts!
• Farmers in Bakersfield pioneered the ready-to-eat “baby” carrots and now the average American eats 11.5 pounds of them each year.
• California provides approximately 88 percent of the nation’s strawberries.
• Approximately 67,500 acres in California grow berries. (2022)
• Yuba and Sutter counties are known as the “Prune Capital of the World.”
• Three counties, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties represent approximately 85% of all land dedicated to growing avocados! (2022)

• California is home to 63,134 farms, about 3.3% of the farms in the U.S. (2022)
• Approximately 2.7% of U.S. farmland is in California. (2022)
• California’s farm production represents approximately 11% of the value of all U.S. farm products.
• Approximately 94% of farms in California are family farms. (2022)
• The average farm size in California is 383 acres- approximately18% smaller than the national average. (2022)
• California’s irrigated farms represent more than 16% of U.S. irrigated farms. (2022)

• Farmers use less water today than the amount evaporated from the Klamath Basin prior to 1905 reclamation.
• Since 2003 farmers in the San Joaquin Valley have invested more than $2.1 billion on 1.8 million acres to upgrade their irrigation systems.
• California rice fields provide a home to over 141 species of birds, 28 species of mammals and 24 species of amphibians and reptiles