DINUBA – The city of Dinuba will continue to have enough water to support its growing population through 2050, according to a report from city officials and contractors.
However, experts urged city council members to maintain management and conservation efforts in order to protect its groundwater from the Kings Subbasin — the city’s only source of water.
The findings come from the 2025 Urban Water Management Plan, which city council approved during their Sept. 8 meeting. Council members simultaneously passed the Water Contingency Plan, which determines what the city can do to preserve water during a potential drought.
“We have to be really careful as to what we’re going to be doing in the future,” Councilmember Linda Launder said.
The city of Dinuba operates approximately 6,730 municipal water service connections. This subjects it to state law that requires urban water suppliers to update their Urban Water Management Plan every five years.
The management plan examines where the city’s water comes from, how much the community uses today, how community needs might change as neighborhoods grow and whether the city expects to have enough water to meet future needs. The plan accounts for a normal water year, a single dry year and multiple consecutive dry years.
Dinuba’s last Urban Water Management Plan and Water Contingency Plan were adopted in 2022, according to Angela Hall, a representative of AM Consulting Engineers. The public-sector civil engineering firm helped create both plans.
The analysis concluded that the city will sustain acceptable levels of groundwater, and included a five-year drought assessment that found Dinuba would continue to meet demands during conservation and reduction measures.
“This conclusion does not mean that the city’s groundwater is unlimited,” Hall said.
However, Dinuba will only meet its water goals provided that the city maintains proper conservation, demand management and maintenance practices. Additionally, the city must ensure groundwater sustainability within the Kings Subbasin — an essential resource the city “relies on,” according to Hall.
Since 2014, the King Subbasin has been “critically over-drafted,” meaning that groundwater is pumped faster than it can be replenished, according to Hall.
All of Dinuba’s drinkable water supply comes from the groundwater wells within the Kings Subbasin. Accordingly, the 2025 Urban Water Management Plan accounts for the long-term management of the groundwater basin, as well as the amount of water the city needs as it grows.
The plan estimates that Dinuba’s population will increase by around 9,600 people in 2050, subsequently raising municipal water demand from 1,555 million gallons in 2025 to 2,400 million by 2050.
Public Works Director George Avila assured council members that Dinuba has room to grow under the new plan. He noted that the water assessment allows room for a 55% increase in every type of development, including residential, commercial or industrial projects. However, Launder warned that agricultural growth would consume much more groundwater than other types of development.
According to a 2023 UN World Water Development Report, 70% of global groundwater withdrawals are used in the agricultural production of food, fibres, livestock and industrial crops.
“Our community is growing, so we have to be mindful in order to provide enough water to serve our needs now and then potential growth,” Launder said. “We’ve learned a lot from the last drought.”
The plans will now be submitted to the California Department of Water Resources in accordance with state requirements.
The Public Works Department is also soon expected to present its Water Master Plan, which aims to ensure that Dinuba has the infrastructure needed to get the water to its residents, according to Avila.
EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this article was updated on Sept. 22, 2026 at 11:20 a.m. pst to correct the term describing groundwater being over-pumped to “over-drafted.”
