California’s existing groundwater infrastructure may fail to quench the state’s thirst in an increasingly arid future, even as officials celebrate widespread conservation achievements, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) warned on Tuesday. “The data doesn’t lie, and it is telling us that our water system is unprepared for California’s hotter and drier climate,” Newsom said in a statement. The governor was referring to data published in a semiannual report by the California Department of Water Resources that morning. The report, which indicated California is collecting more groundwater data than ever before, showed a 2.2 million acre-foot increase in storage last year. Nonetheless, the governor’s office stressed that the Golden State still lacks adequate water infrastructure to provide Californians with the resources they will need in future projected climate conditions.

Other California groundwater news:

• San Francisco Chronicle: California groundwater levels see another bump — but long-term trend still grim
• The SJV Sun (Fresno, Calif.): Newsom hypes boosted groundwater storage in push for Delta Tunnel
• Office of Gov. Gavin Newsom: News release: California needs more than groundwater to ensure water sustainability
• Public Policy Institute of California: Blog: Groundwater markets 101
• California Department of Water Resources: News release: DWR highlights successful partnership with California’s farming community to protect groundwater supplies