The Department of Water Resources protects, conserves, develops, and manages California's water. The Department evaluates existing water resources, forecasts future water needs and explores future potential solutions to meet ever-growing needs for personal use, irrigation, industry, recreation, power generation, and fish and wildlife. The Department also works to prevent and minimize flood damage, ensure the safety of dams, and educate the public about the importance of water and its efficient use.

Since department programs drive the need for infrastructure investment, each department has a related capital outlay program to support this need. For the specifics on the Department of Water Resources' Capital Outlay Program, see "Infrastructure Overview."