Water in California

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California's interconnected water system serves almost 40 million people and irrigates over 5,680,000 acres (2,300,000 ha) of farmland.^[1] As the world's largest, most productive, and potentially most controversial water system,^{[2][page needed]} it manages over 40 million acre-feet (49 km³) of water per year.^[3] Use of available water averages 50% environmental, 40% agricultural and 10% urban, though this varies considerably by region and between wet and dry years.^[4] In wet years, "environmental" water averages 61%, while in dry years it averages 41%, and can be even lower in critically dry years.^[4]

Water and water rights are among the state's divisive political issues. Due to the lack of reliable dry season rainfall, water is limited in the most populous U.S. state. An ongoing debate is whether the state should increase the redistribution of water to its large agricultural and urban sectors, or increase conservation and preserve the natural ecosystems of the water sources.