--- title: NASA: California Drought Recovery Needs Trillions of Gallons of Water description: NASA satellite data reveals the extent of California's drought in a new analysis of the impact canonical: https://time.com/3637060/california-water-drought-nasa/ author: Jack Linshi article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-17T02:20:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:02:19.789Z article:section: Science og:title: This Is How Much Water California Needs to Recover From Its Drought og:description: According to a new analysis on the impact of the three-year drought og:url: https://time.com/3637060/california-water-drought-nasa/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt106354473c9adaf4/69876f4835ba6fa4bdc06051/nasa-california-drought.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2416 og:image:height: 1359 og:image:alt: California Drought NASA og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Is How Much Water California Needs to Recover From Its Drought twitter:description: According to a new analysis on the impact of the three-year drought twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt106354473c9adaf4/69876f4835ba6fa4bdc06051/nasa-california-drought.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Is How Much Water California Needs to Recover From Its Drought > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=15cac32e-51a4-4856-894d-b31e0cc19904&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: #theBrief: Who is Using Up California's Water? [Watch (HLS stream): #theBrief: Who is Using Up California's Water?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1x3DeuzL.m3u8) (2:56)  _Published 2015-04-10. There are three major consumers of the state’s water supply: urban consumers, big agriculture, and the environment._  by [Jack Linshi](https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Dec 17, 2014 2:20 AM UTC  by [Jack Linshi](https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Dec 17, 2014 2:20 AM UTC California needs about 11 trillion gallons of water to recover from its three-year drought, according to a [new NASA analysis](http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/december/nasa-analysis-11-trillion-gallons-to-replenish-california-drought-losses/#.VJDGpt7DfWG), providing the first-ever calculation of this kind. The figure, equivalent to about 1.5 times the maximum volume of the biggest U.S. reservoir, was determined by using NASA climate satellites to measure the water storage in the region’s river basins, which is one index for measuring drought severity, the agency said in a statement released Tuesday. The data reveals that since 2011, the Sacramento and San Joaquin river basins decreased by 4 trillion gallons of water each year — more water than the state’s 38 million residents use annually. Scientists said that while recent storms in California have helped the state replenish its water supply, a full recovery will take much longer. “It takes years to get into a drought of this severity,” said Jay Famiglietti of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, “and it will likely take many more big storms, and years, to crawl out of it.” ## Transcript California is stuck in one of the worst droughts in its history. The state isn't completely out of water, but it is using far more than it can replenish. So where is it all going? I'm Ben Goldberger, and this is your brief. I'm issuing an executive order mandating substantial water reduction across our state. That was California Governor Jerry Brown issuing a 25 % reduction in water use. Those are the first mandatory restrictions since the current drought began four years ago. The cuts will hit the three major consumers of the state's water. The first are urban residents. California is the nation's most populous state. With some 38. 8 million residents. That's an amount that's more than double since 1960. And the things they're being asked to cut back on? It's gonna affect golf courses people's lawns universities, campuses. All sorts of institutions. Take a look at the Palm Springs area. It's got lush green lawns. Sprawling golf courses. And all of it, in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. And its per capita water use is 201 gallons per day. That more than double the state's average. Brown's new rules calls for residents to trade their green lawns for native. Plants. And provides incentives for installing things like low- flow toilets. [ MUSIC ] But urban consumption only accounts for less than 10 % of California's water use. So even if residents were to cut down by 25 %, that would only save 2 % across the entire state. [ MUSIC ] So who consumes the rest of the water? Well, big apiculture. If the Midwest is Americas bread basket California is it's fruit bowl. The Golden State produces 99 % of the countries almonds, 92 % of the nations strawberries, and 90 % of it's tomatoes and that means California's 9 million acres of farmland suck up the bulk of it's water. Although the $ 46 billion agriculture industry only makes up two percent of the state's economy. It accounts for a whooping 80 % of California's human water use. But Brown's new rules don't include restrictions for farmers, who say they've already made efforts to curb their. Their water gives. And they argue that the real culprit is environmental conservation. Here's why. California's Department of Water Resources says nearly 50 % of the state's water is used to preserve rivers, wetlands, and wildlife refuges. However you divide the pie, it's clear that it's getting smaller. And the state's ongoing water crisis could force a real lifestyle change for millions of Californians. I'm Ben Goldberger. 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