California DOF projects 5 Delta Counties Will Account for 84% of California's Population Growth Over The Next 45 Years, While Southern California Population Is Projected To Decline

California DOF's population projections are highly relevant to State planning efforts such as water infrastructure.  The vast majority of the State's future population growth is expected to occur in the 5 Delta Counties.  

Those 5 Delta counties are projected to grow by 1.715 million people which is 84% of the entire State's projected growth of 2.065 million people.  In contrast, the six main Southern California counties that are served by the Metropolitan Water District are expected to decrease in population by 574,000.

The State Department of Water Resources thinks the State's water infrastructure priority is a giant water conveyance tunnel that will degrade water supplies and recreational opportunities in the fastest growing part of the state in hopes of bolstering water supply where population and water demand is already declining and projected to decrease further.  The region with the declining ratepayer base is also expected to pay for this scheme as its ratepayer and taxpayer base declines - increasing the financial riskiness of the project and the burden on individual taxpayers and ratepayers. 

Source: https://dof.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/352/2023/07/P2A_County_Total.xlsx