Energy, inland waterways, roads and stormwater received a D. "While California's infrastructure faces significant challenges, this report serves as a clear call to action." Image by Susie Spades from Pixabay

SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - The California Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released the 2025 Report Card for California's Infrastructure on Dec. 3 assigning 17 categories of infrastructure a cumulative grade of C-, the same grade that the state received in its 2019 report and below the national grade of C in the 2025 Report Card for America's Infrastructure.

Although improvements have been made, resulting in six category grades improving, a C- indicates that California's built environment is not equipped to keep pace with the needs of the largest economy and population in the U.S., particularly as diverse environmental challenges impact infrastructure systems.

California's aviation, energy, hazardous waste, levees, ports and rail grades all improved compared to their 2019 marks, while the state's dams, drinking water, schools and stormwater categories decreased.

Grades for each category are listed below.

Ports and rails received a B; aviation received a B-; wastewater received a C+; hazardous waste received a C; bridges, solid waste and transit received a C-; and dams, drinking water, levees, public parks and schools received a D+. Energy, inland waterways, roads and stormwater received a D.

"While California's infrastructure faces significant challenges, this report serves as a clear call to action," said Yaz Emrani, P.E., co-chair, 2025 Report Card for California's Infrastructure. “It highlights both the urgency and the opportunity for us to invest in modernizing and strengthening our systems. By prioritizing infrastructure renewal now, we can create safer, more sustainable communities and pave the way for a stronger future. With focused investment, we can turn these challenges into lasting improvements for all Californians."

California has some of the strictest environmental regulations in the U.S. While these regulations aim to ensure the future of California's natural resources, environment and quality of life, they also increase the cost of infrastructure projects due to extended planning and permitting processes for systems that urgently need rehabilitation or replacement, adding to the future needs and funding gaps outlined in this report.

California's transportation funding gap exceeds $216 billion over the next 10 years. More than 65 percent of California's bridges (C-) are older than their typical design life of 50 years, and 6 percent of these structures are in poor condition, in line with the national average. In addition to heavy usage from freight movement and a robust population and economy, California's bridges must be built to withstand earthquakes, wildfires, flooding and sea level rise, which adds to maintenance and modernization costs. Nearly 30 percent of the state's roads (D) are in poor condition, higher than the national average of 22 percent.

California's bridges must be built to withstand earthquakes, wildfires, flooding and sea level rise, which adds to maintenance and modernization costs. Photo by Jimmy Chan httpswww.pexels.com

California's energy sector (D) is undergoing a major transformation to meet its 2045 goal of 100-percent clean energy and the state has invested heavily in innovative solutions to make its grid more resilient, resulting in less outages and environmentally friendly. California stands alone as the only state that does not adhere to the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) which mandates compliance with various American Society of Civil Engineers Standards and Manuals of Practices. As a result, California's minimum design weather loadings for overhead electric lines are lower and weaker than the rest of the U.S., contributing to lower grades and reliability.

Despite being a national leader in water innovation and recycled water technologies, the state struggles with equity, affordability and resilience of its aging drinking water (D+) network, especially in rural and disadvantaged communities. More than 85 percent of water utilities rely on components older than their design life, leading to more than 105 billion gallons of water being lost per year due to leaking pipes. Upgrades would cost more than $11.5 billion over the next five years but only $3.5 billion is currently planned to be dedicated to these networks.

“At California American Water, our commitment goes beyond maintaining pipes and pumps; it's about safeguarding the health, safety and prosperity of every community we serve," said Sarah Leeper, president, California American Water. "The urgency of this mission is highlighted by the recent American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) report, which downgraded California's drinking water grade from a C in 2019 to a D+ in 2025.”

“This underscores the significant infrastructure pressures facing our state, including droughts and climate resilience and aging pipes and critical equipment. As we face these challenges, our ongoing investments are essential to help ensure that Californians continue to have safe, clean, reliable and affordable water for generations to come,” Leeper said.

The report includes the recommendations below to improve the grade.

Promote legislation that provides consistent and reliable long-term funding. To ensure reliable infrastructure investment, California should advocate for dedicated, long-term funding sources across sectors and support legislation that removes barriers to funding flexibility.

Encourage collaborative leadership in infrastructure. California should promote cross-sector partnerships and invest in workforce development to strengthen infrastructure leadership. Advancing asset management, predictive maintenance and innovative practices, such as smart technologies and sustainable materials, will improve system performance and resilience.

Raise public awareness of the connection between infrastructure conditions and quality of life. California should involve communities in planning, educate residents on infrastructure's role in safety and well-being, and transparently communicate both improvements and risks to foster trust and preparedness.

Implement efficient infrastructure delivery through improved policies and regulations. California should streamline permitting and adopt data-driven, risk-based approaches to accelerate infrastructure delivery and reduce costs. Modernizing standards and integrating multimodal, climate-resilient planning will help ensure systems are efficient, adaptable and future-ready.

The report card was created as a public service to inform citizens and policymakers about the infrastructure needs in California. Civil engineers use their expertise and school report card-style letter grades to condense complicated data into an easy-to-understand analysis of California's infrastructure network. American Society of Civil Engineers State report cards are modeled after the Report Card for America's Infrastructure, which is released once every four years.

For more information about the American Society of Civil Engineers, visit www.asce.org or www.infrastructurereportcard.com or follow @ASCETweets and @ASCEGovRel on Twitter.