The Department of Water Resources (DWR) in 2023 established a standing drought and water shortage interagency task force in coordination with the State Water Board and other relevant state agencies to facilitate proactive state planning and coordination for pre-drought planning, emergency response, and post-drought management, consistent with Senate Bill 552 (Chaptered in 2021). The Task Force, called the Drought Resilience Interagency and Partners Collaborative (DRIP Collaborative), serves as a public forum with state and non-state agency members to advance our drought strategies and continue building resilience to the increasingly arid conditions California faces.
Explore the Task Force's annual progress reports: 2023 (report highlights) | 2024 (report highlights)
The task force includes two appointees from each of the following groups: local governments, community-based organizations, Tribal representation, nonprofit technical assistance providers, the public, agriculture, environment, public water systems, and experts in land use planning, water resilience, and water infrastructure. The task force also includes one appointee from each of the following state agencies: California Natural Resources Agency, Department of Water Resources, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Environmental Protection Agency, State Water Resources Control Board, California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Office of Emergency Services, and Governor’s Office of Planning and Research. The DRIP Collaborative is 26 members in total.
California Natural Resources Agency – Samantha Arthur
Department of Water Resources – Karla Nemeth
Department of Fish and Wildlife – Emiko Burchill
California Environmental Protection Agency – Anna Naimark
State Water Resources Control Board – Joaquin Esquivel
California Office of Emergency Services – Tina Curry
Governor’s Office of Planning and Research – Natalie Kuffel
California Department of Food and Agriculture – Virginia Jameson
|
Name |
Organization/ Employer |
General Region |
Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Caitlin Loventhal |
California State Association of Counties |
Statewide |
Local Government |
|
Sierra Ryan |
Santa Cruz County |
Central Coast |
Local Government |
|
Kelsey Hinton |
Community Water Center |
San Joaquin Valley & Central Coast |
Community-based organization |
|
Tim Worley |
California Association of Mutual Water Companies |
Southern California |
Community-based organization |
|
Tami McVay |
Self Help Enterprises |
San Joaquin Valley |
Technical Assistance Provider |
|
Cyril Barmore |
Rural Community Assistance Corporation |
Statewide |
Technical Assistance Provider |
|
Suzanne Pecci |
Domestic Well Planning Group South American Subbasin |
Northern California |
The Public |
|
Brent Hastey |
Plumas Lake Self Storage, Owner |
Northern California |
The Public |
|
Anna Schiller |
Environmental Defense Fund |
Statewide, San Joaquin Valley |
Environment |
|
Redgie Collins |
California Trout, Inc. |
Statewide |
Environment |
|
Emily Rooney |
Agricultural Council of California |
Statewide |
Agriculture |
|
Jason Colombini |
Jay Colombini Ranch, Inc. |
San Joaquin Valley, Sierras |
Agriculture |
|
Joshua Cahill |
Yurok Tribe |
Northern California |
Tribal |
|
Matessa Martin |
Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians |
North Central California |
Tribal |
|
Alvar Escriva-Bou |
University of California Los Angeles |
Statewide |
Experts in Land Use/Water |
|
Laura Ramos |
California Water Institute at Fresno State |
San Joaquin Valley |
Experts in Land Use/Water |
|
Carolina Hernandez |
Los Angeles County Public Works |
Southern California |
Public Water Systems |
|
Katie Ruby |
California Urban Water Agencies (CUWA) |
SF Bay Area, Southern CA |
Public Water Systems |
Upcoming
Fall 2025 Meeting: October 17, 2025 at 10:00AM-5:00PM
In person meeting located at California Natural Resources Agency, 715 P St, Room 221-A/B/C (second floor), Sacramento, CA, 95814. Zoom link and YouTube streaming link options will be available.
Past
Summer 2025 Meeting: July 18, 2025 at 10:00AM-5:00PM
Meeting Materials
Agenda | Presentation | Recording
DWR Hydrologic Update: Mid-2025 update on California’s hydrologic conditions, including precipitation, temperature, reservoir and groundwater storage, water project allocations, and Lake Powell inflow forecasts. This slide deck was prepared to inform the DRIP Collaborative about California’s current water supply and outlook.
Idea Worksheet Input: Digitized hand-written feedback members on the potential ideas gave during the meeting.
Spring 2025 Meeting: May 16, 2025 at 10:00AM-5:00PM
Meeting Materials
Agenda | Presentation | Summary | Recording
Informational Virtual Meeting: February 13, 2025 at 10:30AM-12:00PM
Meeting Materials
Agenda | Presentation | Summary | Recording
2025 Workgroup Information: Overview of the DRIP Collaborative’s 2025 workgroups, including their purpose, membership (as of 2/13/25), and DWR point-of-contact.
2024 Progress Report: Summarizes the DRIP Collaborative’s activities and accomplishments in 2024, including adopted recommendations and the anticipated focus areas for 2025.
Land Use Planning for Drought Resiliency Workgroup
Informational Meeting: June 27, 2025 at 10:00AM-11:30AM
Meeting Materials
Meeting 2: June 9, 2025 at 12:30PM-2:00PM
Meeting Materials
Agenda | Presentation | Recording
Meeting 1: March 10, 2025 at 3:30PM-5:00PM
Meeting Materials
Agenda | Presentation | Summary | Recording
Workgroup Packet: Materials documenting past progress and discussion on the Land Use Planning focus area including the working problem statement, past comments made by members, and a list of related state bodies & programs.
Reducing Ecosystem Impacts of Drought Workgroup
Meeting 2: June 17, 2025 at 2:30PM-4:00PM
Meeting Materials
Agenda | Presentation | Summary | Recording
Meeting 1: March 18, 2025 at 1:00PM-2:30PM
Meeting Materials
Agenda | Presentation | Summary | Recording
Workgroup Packet: Materials documenting past progress and discussion on the Ecosystem Impacts focus area including the working problem statement, past comments made by members, and a list of related state bodies & programs.
Water Infrastructure and Planning Workgroup
Meeting 2: June 18, 2025 at 3:00PM-4:30PM
Meeting Materials
Agenda | Presentation | Summary | Recording
Meeting 1: April 3, 2025 at 2:00PM-3:30PM
Meeting Materials
Agenda | Presentation | Summary | Recording
Workgroup Packet: Materials documenting past progress and discussion on the Water Infrastructure focus area including the working problem statement, past comments made by members, and a list of related state bodies & programs.
Cross-Cutting Themes Workgroup
During the full-membership DRIP Collaborative meeting on Friday, May 16 2025, Kyle Jones presented the output of the meeting noticed below. The membership unanimously agreed that the workgroup fulfilled the workgroup's purpose and elected to disband the workgroup.
Meeting 1: March 28, 2025 at 1:00PM-2:30PM
Meeting Materials
Agenda | Presentation | Summary | Recording
Hybrid meeting located at California Natural Resources Agency, 715 P Street, Sacramento. Workgroup members and the public were able to join at the physical location or via Zoom.
Meeting Materials
Agenda | Recording
Drought Indicators and Metrics Recommendation Part I Draft: Draft of the drought indicators and metrics recommendation overview.
Drought-Relevant Data Recommendation Recap: Summary of relevant comments made during the Spring 2024 Full Membership meeting.
Workgroup Members Remotely Participating
Robyn Grimm, Laura Ramos, Alvar Escriva-Bou, Katie Ruby
Meeting 2: September 4, 2024
Hybrid meeting located at California Natural Resources Agency, 715 P Street, Sacramento. Workgroup members and the public were able to join at the physical location or via Zoom.
Meeting Materials
Agenda | Recording
Community Well Monitoring Network Recommendation Part II Draft: Full draft of the voluntary community well monitoring network recommendation.
SB 552 Update Recommendation Part II Draft: Full draft of the SB 552 update recommendation.
Roles and Responsibilities Recommendation Part II Draft: Full draft of the roles and responsibilities recommendation.
Workgroup Members Remotely Participating
Jason Colombini, Justine Massey, Sierra Ryan, Tami McVay, Catherine Freeman, Suzanne Pecci, Carolina Hernandez, Andrew Altevogt
Meeting 1: June 12, 2024
Hybrid meeting located at California Natural Resources Agency, 715 P Street, Sacramento. Workgroup members and the public were able to join at the physical location or via Zoom.
Meeting Materials
Agenda | Recording
Roles and Responsibilities Recommendation Part I Draft: Draft of the roles and responsibilities recommendation overview.
SB 552 Language Update Recommendation Part I Draft: Draft of the SB 552 update recommendation overview.
Drought Preparedness for Domestic Wells Recommendation Recap: Summary of relevant comments made during the Spring 2024 Full Membership meeting.
Workgroup Members Remotely Participating
Jason Colombini, Justine Massey, Sierra Ryan, Tami McVay, Catherine Freeman, Suzanne Pecci, Carolina Hernandez, Andrew Altevogt
June 4, 2024
Hybrid meeting located at California Natural Resources Agency, 715 P Street, Sacramento. Workgroup members and the public were able to join at the physical location or via Zoom.
Meeting Materials
Agenda | Presentation | Recording
Workgroup Members Remotely Participating
Tim Worley, Redgie Collins, Laura Ramos, Suzanne Pecci, Katie Ruby, Matessa Martin, Jason Colombini, Justine Massey, Sierra Ryan, Catherine Freeman, Carolina Hernandez, Alvar Escriva-Bou
The full DRIP Collaborative membership meets three times a year in Spring, Summer, and Fall in publicly accessible meetings. The event information, materials, and outputs for each meeting are detailed below.
Fall 2024 Meeting: October 18, 2024
In person meeting located at California Natural Resources Agency, 715 P Street, Sacramento. Zoom and YouTube streaming options were also available for the public.
Meeting Materials
Agenda | Presentation | Summary | Recording
Potential 2025 Focus Area and Themes Statements: Initial drafts of the statements summarizing the purpose and direction of the 2025 focus areas and cross-cutting themes.
Part II Recommendation Drafts: Packet of full drafts of each recommendation (except for the Communication Program, its revised description is provided).
Summer 2024 Meeting: July 12, 2024
In person meeting located at California Natural Resources Agency, 715 P Street, Sacramento. Zoom and YouTube streaming options were also available for the public.
Meeting Materials
Agenda | Presentation | Summary | Recording
Part I Recommendation Drafts: Packet of drafts of the recommendation overviews.
Part I Recommendation Drafts Summary: Slide deck of brief recommendation descriptions and their interconnectedness.
Potential 2025 Focus Area Primers: Primer documents on the potential 2025 focus areas; summarizes past DRIP Collaborative member comments, highlights particular issues, and poses discussion questions relevant to each topic; also shares a list of relevant State reports, programs, and actions.
Recommendation Worksheet Input: Digitized hand-written feedback members gave during the meeting.
Recommendation Pre-Meeting Evaluation Worksheet: Pre-meeting worksheet soliciting thoughts and concerns on the proposed recommendations. DRIP Collaborative members were asked to complete this form ahead of the meeting to inform the discussion.
Spring 2024 Meeting: April 26, 2024
In person meeting located at California Natural Resources Agency, 715 P Street, Sacramento. Zoom and YouTube streaming options were also available for the public.
Meeting Materials
Agenda | Presentation | Summary | Recording
Recommendation Template: Template for DRIP Collaborative Members to develop recommendations for the task force's consideration.
Preliminary recommendations: Summary and notes from small group discussions to identify initial recommendation ideas.
Recommendation Worksheet Input: Summarized hand-written notes on recommendations
Recommendations Summary Presentation: Slide deck of recommendations’ initial descriptions.
Community Monitoring Recommendation Handout: Detailed description of the community groundwater monitoring recommendation. The handout was provided by a DRIP Collaborative member to share with the rest of the task force.
Fall 2023 Meeting: October 25, 2023
In person meeting located at the Downtown Sac State Training Center, 304 S Street, Sacramento. Zoom and YouTube streaming options were also available for the public.
Meeting Materials
Agenda | Presentation | Summary | Recording
Focus Themes Summary: Recap of Summer 2023 discussions about the focus areas.
Summer 2023 Meeting: July 20, 2023
In person meeting located at the Downtown Sac State Training Center, 304 S Street, Sacramento. Zoom and YouTube streaming options were also available for the public.
Meeting Materials
Agenda | Presentation | Summary | Recording
Reference Sheet: Reference sheet summarizing potential focus areas and ideas for the DRIP Collaborative.
Spring 2023 Meeting: April 6, 2023
In person meeting located at the Headquarters for the California Natural Resources Agency at 715 P Street, Sacramento. Meet and greet in person began at 12:30-1:00PM. Zoom and YouTube streaming options were also available starting at 1:00PM.
Meeting Materials
Agenda | Presentation | Summary | Recording
The DRIP Collaborative meeting location(s) are accessible to people with disabilities. Any person who requires special assistance to participate in the meeting, or wishes to request this notice or other meeting materials in an alternative format, requires translation services, or needs any disability-related modification or accommodation, including auxiliary aids or services, which would enable that person to participate at the meeting must make that request at least 7 days prior to the meeting date by contacting DWR staff at drip@water.ca.gov or calling (916) 606-2134.
As a State body, the task force is governed by the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, which requires the Collaborative to:
For More Information
To receive email notifications about DRIP Collaborative-related events and other news, sign up here and select “DWR DRIP Collaborative”.
The Drought Resilience Interagency and Partners (DRIP) Collaborative, established to enhance California’s resilience to droughts and water shortages, has released its 2024 progress report which highlights the activities, discussions, meetings, and collaborative recommendation process that was undertaken during the DRIP Collaborative’s second year.
Even though California’s April Snow Survey marked a second consecutive year of above average snowpack and precipitation, the State is continuing to take proactive steps to plan for future dry conditions as shifts between abundant wet years and extreme drought become more frequent.