October 1 marks the beginning of the new Water Year in California. … It is a good time to reflect on the last year and make largely futile predictions of precipitation for the coming 12 months. The 2024 water year was blissfully normal. Not too wet. No major floods. Not a drought.  The year was unusually normal, for the last decade. … For the Central Valley, Water Year 2024’s precipitation was near average, making it highly unusual for recent decades. Most major reservoirs have higher than average water storage at the end of the irrigation season. This storage will go a long way to dampening a drought for cities and agriculture if the coming water year is moderately dry. … Groundwater is by far the largest supply of stored water in California, particularly for droughts.  Despite 10 years since the passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) and a couple of wettish years, some areas of the San Joaquin and Tulare basins continue to deepen the overdraft and land subsidence that they will need to address by 2040.