New three-year project will quantify the benefits and impacts of the 2030 indoor residential water use standard in California

California has a long history of investing in urban water-use efficiency and conservation. Faced with drought, rising water costs, and climate change, in 2018, the state passed legislation for “Making Conservation a Way of Life” (AB 1668-SB 606),

The framework requires urban retail water suppliers, who overall serve 36 million residents, to meet water budget targets based on efficient water-use standards set by the Legislature (approved by the Governor) and the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board).

In 2022, SB 1157 updated the indoor residential water use standard and directed the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), in coordination with the State Water Board, to evaluate indoor residential water use and quantify impacts of the lower indoor residential water use standard on water supply, wastewater and recycled water systems.

Until 2025, the standard for indoor residential water use was 55 gallons per capita daily. According to SB 1157, beginning Jan. 1, 2025, and until Jan. 1, 2030, the standard is 47 gallons per capita daily.

Starting in May, a multi-university team began working with DWR to quantify benefits and impacts of achieving the indoor residential water-use standard by 2030 and inform its long-term implementation.

Led by the California Institute for Water Resources within UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, the project team includes experts from CIWR, UCLA (Luskin Center for Innovation and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering), UC Merced, the Office of Water Programs at Sacramento State, and UC Riverside.

A public webinar to kick off this urban water project will be held on Monday, Sept. 29, from  1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The webinar is open to the public.

Water suppliers, local governments, community organizations, researchers and others who are interested are encouraged to attend this free webinar and follow this important work.

The team will focus on forecasting future water demand and efficiency trends in California cities, evaluating links between urban water supply and wastewater systems, understanding potential impacts to recycled water production, and assessing impacts on affordability for systems across the state.

The team will provide findings to DWR by January 2028. The project is part of multiple studies by DWR to evaluate current and future indoor water use in urban retail water suppliers, which are defined as systems that serve over 3,000 connections or provide at least 3,000 acre-feet of water to retail customers.

The studies will incorporate expertise of Technical Advisory Panels and Working Groups comprised of industry, government and nonprofit experts.

To register for the Sept. 29 webinar, visit https://water.ca.gov/News/Events/2025/Sep-25/SB-1157-Benefits-and-Impacts-Working-Group-Kickoff-Meeting

State investment will help California farmers, agriculture sector meet water, heat and labor challenges

UC ANR Innovate – the innovation program of University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources – has been awarded $15.1 million to launch the state’s first coordinated agricultural innovation network, connecting California’s diverse food-producing regions to accelerate technology, support entrepreneurs and prepare the workforce of the future. This award is part of $28.6 million in new Jobs First funding for California’s agricultural sector, with UC ANR leading the statewide agricultural innovation cluster. The cluster spans agtech and food systems investments designed to strengthen competitiveness and resilience across the state.

Funded through the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) and California Jobs First, this statewide effort will align research, industry and community partners across nine regions, ensuring that breakthroughs in one part of the state can be shared quickly and equitably across all of California agriculture. At $15.1 million, it is the largest award made to date under the California Jobs First Regional Investment Initiative.

“This award allows us to do something California has never done before: build a single, statewide engine for agricultural innovation,” said Gabriel Youtsey, chief innovation officer at UC ANR. “We will be able to seamlessly connect researchers, entrepreneurs, farmworkers and industry across major farming regions, moving ideas from the lab to the field faster than ever, and ensuring that every farmer – from small specialty growers to large scale producers – benefits from the tools needed to stay competitive.”

“UC ANR’s presence in every California county for over 100 years gives us unprecedented reach,” said Glenda Humiston, UC vice president of agriculture and natural resources. “Our Cooperative Extension advisors know which technologies actually work in the field, which innovations farmers need most, and how to bridge the gap between research and reality. This funding transforms our local expertise into statewide impact, accelerating technology adoption that might otherwise take decades.”

The stakes could not be higher. California’s $59 billion farm economy, which is responsible for more than a third of the nation’s vegetables and three quarters of its fruits and nuts, faces intensifying pressure on multiple fronts. Drought, extreme heat and wildfire smoke are driving up costs and reducing yields. Pests and diseases are shifting in unpredictable ways, threatening specialty crops and permanent orchards.

Meanwhile, a shortage of skilled workers leaves many farms unable to adopt new tools, and small and mid-sized growers are often the last to access solutions. Even when promising technologies exist, they spread slowly because efforts are fragmented across regions and lack the infrastructure to test, validate and scale innovations statewide. Without better coordination, California risks losing its longstanding leadership in food production.

This initiative meets the moment by establishing California’s first statewide infrastructure to align regional priorities under a single network with shared industry leadership. It lowers the risks of bringing new technologies to market by incorporating field trials, farmer feedback and targeted innovation grants, while equipping growers and workers with the skills to adopt them. The effort is built around three integrated components:

●      Statewide Network and Investment Hub – Unites nine food-producing regions under a single vision. Guided by an advisory board of growers and agricultural leaders, the hub will coordinate priorities, host annual convenings and deploy $2 million in innovation grants. It will also connect startups with investors, provide tools to navigate regulatory and market barriers, and create a statewide digital platform and shared brand to give California agriculture greater visibility on the global stage.

●      Entrepreneur Support Programs – Accelerates commercialization of new technologies through two pathways. Early-stage innovators will receive support to refine prototypes, strengthen business models, and prepare for regulatory approval. Market-ready companies will gain opportunities to test solutions in the field, gather farmer feedback, and showcase technologies to buyers and investors. Both pathways use a common readiness framework to ensure innovations are validated and ready to scale across California agriculture.

●      Workforce Investments – Builds the talent pipeline needed for adoption of emerging tools. Programs will upskill farmworkers with industry-aligned training, engage students in robotics and automation challenges, integrate drone and data science skills into classrooms, and provide hands-on field experiences that inspire careers in agricultural innovation.

“This investment positions California at the forefront of the agricultural technology revolution,” said Dee Dee Myers, senior advisor to Governor Newsom and GO-Biz director. “We’re building the infrastructure for innovation that will keep California agriculture competitive for decades. These aren’t just incremental improvements; we’re talking about transformative technologies that will reshape how food is produced.”

Karen Ross, California Department of Food and Agriculture secretary, added, “California feeds the nation, but our agricultural leadership isn’t guaranteed. Other states and countries are investing heavily in agricultural technology. This initiative ensures California doesn’t just keep up but defines the future of farming globally.”

The initiative fills a critical gap in agricultural innovation: the disconnect between technology development and on-farm use.

“I’ve seen too many promising agricultural startups fail because they couldn’t find farmers to test their products or didn’t understand how farms actually operate,” said Connie Bowen, general partner of Farmhand Ventures. “This initiative builds the missing infrastructure: test sites, farmer feedback, technical expertise. We’re creating the conditions for California to capture the growing agricultural technology market.”

Western Growers, representing farmers who produce half of America’s fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts, sees the initiative as essential for maintaining competitiveness.

“Every grower I know is trying to figure out how to do more with less: less water, less land, fewer inputs,” said Walt Duflock, senior vice president of innovation at Western Growers. “Technology exists to solve these challenges, but adoption has been slow and fragmented. This coordinated approach changes everything.”

The program specifically focuses on democratizing innovation, ensuring small and mid-sized farms aren’t left behind in the technology transformation. By creating regional hubs and shared resources, even smaller operations can access cutting-edge tools and expertise.

“This isn’t about replacing traditional farming, it’s about giving every farmer the tools to thrive,” noted Youtsey. “Whether you’re managing 10 acres or 10,000, this initiative ensures you have access to innovations that improve productivity, sustainability, and profitability.”

Expected outcomes within five years include support for 200 agricultural technology startups, the creation of more than 2,000 jobs in the agricultural innovation sector, training for over 1,500 individuals in agricultural technology, and a strengthened position for California in the global agricultural technology market.

The initiative brings together a powerful coalition including the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Western Growers Association, California Farmworker Foundation, Agricultural Council of California, UC Santa Cruz, Center for Land-Based Learning, and regional partners across all nine food producing regions.

Implementation begins in late 2025, with innovation cohorts and regional technology demonstrations ramping up in early 2026.

For more information about participating in the initiative, contact Gabe Youtsey, chief innovation officer, at gdyoutsey@ucanr.edu.

As agave farming catches on in California, UC ANR experts offer environmental and cultural considerations

We’re living in a modern gold rush. That’s according to Samuel Sandoval Solis, a University of California Cooperative Extension specialist and UC Davis professor in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources. But don’t get your pickaxe yet, he’s not talking about minerals. He’s interested in the latest must-have crop.

“We have gone through the pistachio rush, the avocado rush, the almond rush. There is always a rush,” said Sandoval Solis. “We are now in the agave rush.”

The popularity of farming agave has taken off in the last few years, with climate change motivating growers to consider planting drought-tolerant crops. Before 2023, only 50 acres of agave were grown statewide, according to a UC Davis study. Now, that’s quadrupled to more than 200 acres.

With all that buzz, the UC Organic Agriculture Institute hosted a field day on June 4 for current and prospective growers at an organic agave farm in Campo, part of San Diego County. Through a series of bilingual lectures and site tours, experts from the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources shared farming techniques that respect the environment and the cultural significance of the agave plant.

Sandoval Solis, a water resources expert, delivered his talk in Spanish, retelling a Mexican creation story featuring agave. He hoped to inspire growers to reflect on the historic significance of the plant, which has been cultivated and studied in Mexico for thousands of years. With that background, he presented attendees with a choice for how they approach growing the plant.

“We are at a crossroads,” Sandoval Solis said. “We can expand the conventional, environmentally aggressive practices, or we can be a little bit more gentle and socially responsible.”

Spilling the compost tea

Ofelia Lichtenheld demonstrated those gentle, regenerative practices on her farm, Rancho de los Espíritus Contentos, where the event was held. She invited attendees to join the process of brewing a “compost tea.”

The murky cocktail is a mixture of organic nutrients including kelp, molasses, bat guano and vermicompost (aka, worm poop), which will be used to water the various test plots of agave growing on the property. Each agave species is evaluated for its suitability to the local microclimate, and Lichtenheld hopes to set every plant up for success by holistically investing in the farm.

“Chemical fertilizers feed the plants, not the soil. I am very concerned about getting the diverse microbiome in the soil,” Lichtenheld said. “You can tell in the plants – they are very happy.”

Reduction in pesticides and herbicides presents some inconveniences, however. Squirrels and rabbits nibble on Lichtenheld’s plants, drawn to their natural sweetness. Coyotes have damaged her irrigation system by chewing through the plastic tubing.

“I have a lot of challenges. That’s why I wanted to have all these people here so they can learn,” Lichtenheld said.

The farm is experimenting with solutions like enclosing the agave with gopher baskets. Meanwhile, Lichtenheld is installing even more wildlife habitat on her site with help from Point Blue Conservation Science.

She’s confident the long-term benefits of pollinators and other wild visitors will outweigh the frustration during this research and development phase. That’s why she appreciates the guidance shared by UC ANR advisors. She’s also sharing her findings as part of the organic hub of the California Farm Demonstration Network, which supports the exchange of sustainable knowledge and practices between demonstration sites.

“ A farmer should not be farming alone,” Lichtenheld said. “They should be farming with other farmers.”

To that point, agricultural experts from UC ANR and UC Davis are conducting a survey for agave farmers to share their experience growing the crop. The survey is available in English and Spanish. Results will be used to create an agenda for applied research, educational training and manuals of strategies that address current challenges.

Investing in long-term growth

Technically, field day attendee Christopher Konrad has been an agave grower for over a decade. His uncle introduced him to the plant as a water-saving ornamental in his garden.

“They’re easy to propagate,” Konrad said. “He would hand them off to me. I would start growing them and enjoy them in my yard.”

Now, Konrad is thinking about the plant differently – turning the corner from home gardener to entrepreneurial agave grower. He’s watched the crop gain a foothold in California, marked by the establishment of the California Agave Council, a trade group dedicated to the plant.

This year, Konrad purchased 40 acres of remote farmland close to the Cleveland National Forest, with the intention of planting agave and selling them to distillers or landscapers. He envisions a farm that’s integrated with the environment, even enhancing the site’s biodiversity.

Touring Lichtenheld’s farm gave Konrad a role model for turning that vision into reality. He took notes on the compost tea recipe and a possible brand of irrigation system to consider purchasing. He’s even hoping to buy agave plants from Lichtenheld, in addition to the free agave seedlings handed out to every attendee of the field day.

Besides absorbing those technical tips, Konrad left the event reflective of his place in the ecosystem of agave growers.

“I’m trying to get clear with myself: why am I doing it? What are my values? What do I care about? If I can be clear with that, then I can know my path forward,” Konrad said.

Agaves are slow-growing – some species take over a decade to mature. From Konrad’s perspective, a lucrative outcome isn’t guaranteed. Over that time, he plans to experiment alongside experts like Lichtenheld and other UC affiliates to ensure these culturally significant plants are well cared for and don’t compromise the environment around them.

Soon enough, he may have his first harvest to show for it.

“I’m going 2032,” Konrad said. “It sounds like a nice number to me.”

Lofton, urban watershed resilience advisor, spurs community action to mark Water Awareness Month

May is Water Awareness Month, a special time for Californians to come together in celebration of water, our most essential shared resource. Across the state, water agencies and providers are hosting lively events, such as poster contests and family-friendly activities, that promote conservation and spark curiosity.

“Now is a great time to visit your local water provider’s website to learn how you can get involved,” said Esther Lofton, University of California Cooperative Extension urban watershed resilience advisor for Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Earlier this May, Lofton and her team actively engaged eight groups of 12th-grade students from Orange and Los Angeles counties. As part of a GROW Program event at UC South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine, she brought water science to life by exploring the intricacies of filtration systems and the remarkable journey water takes to reach our taps.

Lofton’s colleague, Daniel Gonzalez II, energized the sessions by demonstrating parts of the filtration process and guiding students through hands-on activities.

Students were surprised to learn about the complexities of water sourcing. “I didn’t know we import water from as far as Colorado!” one of them said.

To foster a sense of ownership and responsibility, Lofton encouraged the approximately 280 participating students to make personal pledges for water conservation. Their enthusiastic responses included promises to turn off the tap while brushing their teeth and to fill washing machines completely before use.

One memorable moment came when a student humorously stated: “I will drink less water!”

Lofton chuckled and reminded the class: “If your body needs it, I encourage you to drink more water – that’s the only exception!”

Orange County grade schoolers wowed by ‘magic’ of water science

Lofton and her team also attended the OC Children’s Water Education Festival, hosted by the Orange County Water District in late April, where they captivated more than 1,600 enthusiastic third- to fifth-graders.

Over two days at Oak Canyon Park, the educators conducted 13 interactive sessions, each with approximately 45 students, guiding them on the extraordinary journey water takes from source to tap while reinforcing the importance of conservation.

The enthusiasm of the young crowd was palpable, with many exclaiming “this is magic!” as they watched water flow cleanly from the filter.

“I really try to ignite a sense of responsibility in this next generation about their critical role in sustainable practices,” Lofton said.

Beyond the classroom, Lofton and Gonzalez also amplified their message through social media and blog posts, creating opportunities for community feedback and questions.

One resident from Santa Barbara asked: “If California cares about protecting water, why are they also building more houses?” This inquiry stimulates essential discussions about finding the balance between growth and sustainability.

Lofton is keeping the conversation going by inviting community members to participate in a brief survey and share their personal water conservation pledges.

“We all live in watersheds, and every small action contributes to a greater impact,” Lofton said. “By making a pledge, you’re not only contributing to a more sustainable future, but you’re also helping lead by example.”

Selected pledges will be featured in next year’s Water Awareness Month celebrations, highlighting the meaningful ways individuals are making a difference.

To learn more, explore Lofton’s latest blog post on Water Awareness Month. You can also follow her journey and access additional resources on Instagram, TikTok, and X, or visit her UC ANR SoCal Water Resources website, which features engaging resources on drinking water, water resilience, water use efficiency and more.

Study findings from Southern California orchards help growers save water, money

Perched precariously on the steep hillside of an avocado orchard in San Diego County, Ali Montazar began to form a theory as to why there are so few studies of irrigation for avocados.

“Perhaps no one likes to do research on a nearly 45% slope and erect 30-foot-high towers to collect data from sensors above the canopy!” said Montazar, University of California Cooperative Extension irrigation and water management advisor for Riverside, San Diego and Imperial counties. “But if you’re on flat land looking at almonds or pistachios, everyone is happy to do such research there.”

Despite the ruggedness of the terrain (avocados are often planted on hillsides in California production systems), Montazar persisted in advancing his groundbreaking research to optimize irrigation for “Hass” avocado trees. California is the No. 1 state in the U.S. in avocado production, with the crop valued at more than $523 million, according to recent statistics.

A researcher with the California Avocado Commission (CAC), one of the primary funders of this project, was certainly glad Montazar finished his work unscathed.

“Water for avocado is the single biggest input, dollar-wise, that growers have – it tops harvest costs; it tops fertilizer costs,” said Tim Spann, a CAC research consultant who was formerly the director of the CAC research program. “Ensuring that growers are putting out irrigation at optimal rates goes directly to their bottom line.”

The need for efficient and effective irrigation scheduling is especially acute in Southern California, where most of the state’s avocados are grown.

“This region is under pressure due to a variety of water issues, facing uncertain water supplies, mandatory reductions in water use and rising costs of water,” said Montazar, noting that San Diego County has some of the highest water costs in the nation.

Data-based crop coefficients crucial for determining water needs

Crop coefficients are numbers used to calculate the amount of water a particular crop needs, given a variety of environmental and plant factors. Noting that as much as 50% of an avocado grower’s production costs go to irrigation, Montazar set out to develop more reliable crop coefficients for avocado, based on real-world data.

“This is huge; we have never had a project like this conducted for avocados in California,” Spann said. “The crop coefficient we used previously was developed out of a salinity project done 20-plus years ago.”

Because avocado growers had been using that roughly estimated crop coefficient (as well as coefficients borrowed from citrus), Montazar sought to calculate “true” crop coefficients by measuring actual evapotranspiration from orchards across California’s avocado-growing regions.

For three years, Montazar and his team collected data from sites scattered across the four counties where avocados are primarily grown: Riverside, San Diego, Orange and Ventura.

“We used cutting-edge remote sensing technology and ground-based data for this research, which had never been used for avocados at this scale,” Montazar added.

The scientists found that the actual evapotranspiration numbers – and therefore the crop coefficients – varied widely based on site-specific conditions and factors such as slope and row orientation, soil type and condition, canopy size and management, age of orchard and seasonal changes.

“Growers can rely on these numbers, because they come from their practices and may represent a wide range of site and environment features,” Montazar said. “We conducted this study in 12 different commercial sites in actual cropping systems.”

Montazar and Spann both observed that, in general, growers were likely overwatering during certain times of year.

“Overall, the biggest surprise was that Ali has shown we actually need less water than what most of us had previously thought – which is definitely a good thing,” Spann said. “Even if growers don’t fully utilize this information that he’s produced, we can still communicate with them that: ‘Look, our old information that we were providing you – that avocados need about three acre-feet per year – is probably on the high side. At the very least, dial it back 10% or something like that.’”

Scientists share research, develop tools to aid growers

Montazar said that he is developing crop-coefficient curves and user-friendly tools that growers can refer to – factoring in those variables such as growing region, crop canopy and topography features, and soil types and conditions – and thus determine more precisely the optimal amount of water to apply.  

He also said the newly developed crop coefficients will be plugged into an existing irrigation calculator, and have also been used to verify the satellite data-based models available to growers through OpenET.

In addition, Montazar and his colleagues have been sharing the results of the research in the California Avocado Commission newsletter, which goes to 4,000 growers, at CAC meetings, and during more than 10 in-person field days, workshops and webinars. The results also have been presented at several international and national conferences.

“The avocado community has been very supportive,” Montazar said. “Maybe it’s because of the high water-costs in this region, and the fact that this information is an immediate need for water-efficiency enhancement in avocados. Avocado growers are very interested in adopting technology and any improvement in irrigation management; I observed a strong eagerness for these results, which I find very encouraging.”

In turn, Spann said avocado growers have been immensely appreciative of Montazar’s attention to this much-needed area of study.

“When he reached out, it was wonderful – we’ve never really had someone with his level of expertise, specifically on irrigation, working on avocados like this,” Spann explained. “It’s always nice to work with farm advisors, who don’t have the additional burdens of teaching and having students and so forth – they can really dedicate themselves to a project. They’re truly interested in helping the grower.”

And, based on those conversations with growers, Montazar is already formulating his next research project – quantifying, at several sites, the actual effects on avocado yield of following his new crop coefficients to apply irrigation water.

The avocado crop coefficient paper can be found at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425001957. The project was also supported by the California Department of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.

The authors are Montazar; Ben Faber, UC Cooperative Extension soils/water/subtropical crops advisor for Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, UC ANR; Dennis Corwin, research soil scientist, USDA-Agricultural Research Service; Alireza Pourreza, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in agricultural mechanization, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, UC Davis; and Richard Snyder, biometeorology specialist, Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, UC Davis.