October 7, 2026
By Emily Rooney
California’s farmers and ranchers are under constant pressure. An ever-changing regulatory environment and volatile weather patterns drive up costs and complicate nearly every decision they make. Water is at the crux of these challenges. It is the lifeblood of every farming and ranching operation, yet California needs more infrastructure to capture and store water when it is available — including reservoirs, groundwater recharge and storage projects, and other essential water infrastructure.
That is why Agricultural Council of California supports Proposition 45, the Building an Affordable California Act. We advocate for more than 15,000 farmers across California, from farmer-owned businesses to some of the world’s best-known brands, and every one of them depends on a reliable water supply.
Proposition 45 would establish clear, enforceable timelines for the environmental review and approval of essential projects, including water infrastructure. For farmers and ranchers, that means a more predictable process for projects designed to capture, store, recycle and deliver the water our communities and agricultural economy depend on.
The need is especially critical when California has an opportunity to capture more water during wet years. El Niño conditions are expected to bring wetter-than-normal weather to California this winter. With the right infrastructure in place, additional rainfall can help strengthen California’s water supply for future dry periods. But the infrastructure needed to capture and store that water can take years to move through California’s approval and permitting process.
Sites Reservoir in Northern California illustrates why those timelines matter. The project is a longtime state priority that would add 1.5 million acre-feet of water storage capacity — enough water to supply more than 4.5 million homes for a year. Yet its environmental analysis took six years, and the project is still working through final permits and approvals.
The dollars are significant, too. California has now committed approximately $1.36 billion in state funding to Sites Reservoir. The project’s estimated cost has grown substantially over time, from $3.9 billion in 2021 dollars to an estimated $6.2 billion to $6.8 billion in 2025 dollars.
Sites is one project, but it illustrates a much broader challenge for California taxpayers. When publicly funded infrastructure takes longer to build, construction, financing and other project costs can increase. Those costs do not simply disappear. They are ultimately borne by taxpayers and ratepayers who fund the roads, schools, hospitals, water systems and other public infrastructure California needs.
And those changes extend well beyond water. Proposition 45 applies to essential projects including water infrastructure, clean energy, roads and transit, schools, hospitals and health care facilities, wildfire prevention, housing and broadband. For publicly funded projects, reducing unnecessary delays can also reduce the additional costs that accumulate while construction waits.
For agriculture, the stakes are especially high. A reliable water supply is not only about the future of California farms and ranches. It is also about the food supply Californians depend on every day. When farmers have less reliable access to water, the effects can ripple through the agricultural supply chain and contribute to higher production costs. Reliable water infrastructure therefore matters not just to growers, but to families trying to manage grocery bills and an already high cost of living.
California cannot control when the next drought will come or when a wet year will give us an opportunity to replenish our water supplies. But we can make sure we are prepared to make the most of that water when it comes.
Proposition 45 would establish transparent, predictable timelines for environmental review and project decisions without taking those decisions away from local communities. Environmental review and public participation remain part of the process, and cities and counties retain their authority to approve or deny projects. Proposition 45 does not dictate the outcome; it creates a more predictable timeline for reaching a decision.
California’s farmers and ranchers cannot afford to spend another decade waiting for the water infrastructure our state already knows it needs. Neither can California families and taxpayers who ultimately pay the price when essential projects take longer and cost more to build. Reliable water is essential to our food supply — and to making California more affordable.
California needs to build the water infrastructure our farms, families and food supply depend on — and Proposition 45 will help us get it done.
Emily Rooney is president of Agricultural Council of California.