Department of Water Resources

Before Governor Goodwin Knight called a special legislative session, which established the Department of Water Resources, California water issues were handled by many different agencies.

On July 5, 1956, the California Department of Water Resources became responsible for the accumulation of data on the State's water resources and planning of their development and distribution.

Such data collection was not new to the Department. Its predecessor, the Division of Water Resources under the Department of Public Works, began initial investigations in 1921 into California's water resources.

Today, DWR continues collecting data on water supply and usage and forecasts future water needs. This information is published in the Department’s Bulletin 160 series, which follows the tradition of Bulletins 1,2, and 3, the last of which is the first California Water Plan. Bulletin 160 is updated every five years.

Each year, the Department also publishes Bulletin 132, which summarizes details of the preceding year's SWP operations.