Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Without Fast Action, We May See the Mother of All Water Wars in CA
By admin
Published 3 years ago on
February 8, 2022

Share

 

What happened — or didn’t — weatherwise during the last two months starkly reminds us of the erratic nature of California’s vital water supply.

Dan Walters

CalMatters

Opinion

After months of severe drought, the state saw record-shattering storms in December, creating a hefty mountain snowpack while replenishing seriously depleted reservoirs. But January, historically a month of heavy precipitation, was bone-dry.

With climate change, California’s wet periods have become briefer, albeit sometimes more intense, and the dry periods have become longer, making the state’s elaborate water storage and conveyance systems less able to cope with precipitation patterns.

New Approaches Needed on Water

The clear need for new approaches, however, collides with California’s notoriously byzantine and sloth-like processes for making water policy. It’s not unusual for specific issues, such as the construction of a new reservoir or canal, new water quality standards, or changes in water diversion rights, to drag on for decades without resolution.

For example, whether to bypass the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta with tunnels or canals to divert Northern California water into the California Aqueduct for shipment southward has been kicking around for more than six decades, embracing nine governorships.

Something has to give and rather than be forced into short-term emergency actions, we should accept the changing reality and act decisively and proactively. Basically, we have three choices, or more realistically, some combination of the three:

— Improving reliability by creating more storage, such as the long-pending Sites Reservoir, to take advantage of the periodic deluges, such as December’s storms;

— Increasing water supply by building more desalination plants, such as the one now operating in San Diego County and its twin proposed in Orange County, and more facilities to cleanse and reuse wastewater;

— Shifting more water from agriculture, which now uses about 75% of water allocated for human purposes, to environmental or residential uses.

Politicians Prefer the Illusion of Action

None of the options is easy, given the many legal, political, and procedural hurdles and the huge number of competing interests involved — which is why specific proposals languish and why politicians shy away from confrontation. Instead, they issue bromides, such as exhortations to take shorter showers or water lawns less frequently, that give the illusion of action without material and lasting effects.

Challenging water rights would be the mother of all water wars, but it may be inevitable if weather patterns continue to change.

Recently, a ballot measure that would have diverted more of the state’s budget surplus into traditional storage and conveyance projects popped up, only to be abandoned for lack of unified support. It was aimed at removing some of the pressure on farmers.

Notwithstanding that false start, competing water interests are gearing up for the inevitable day of reckoning. Backers of desalination and storage projects are becoming more vocal and the distribution or redistribution of agricultural water is receiving more attention.

Rewrite California Water Law?

Sensing an opening due to the drought, some environmentalists are pursuing their long-sought goal of reducing agricultural diversions to provide more water for endangered fish species. The Planning and Conservation League has released a new report, drawn up by a team of lawyers, to rewrite California water law and give the state Water Resources Control Board more authority.

It aims to force farmers, even those with water rights dating back more than a century, to justify their diversions or face curtailments, giving teeth to the state constitution’s command that “the waste or unreasonable use or unreasonable method of use of water be prevented, and that the conservation of such waters is to be exercised with a view to the reasonable and beneficial use thereof in the interest of the people and for the public welfare.”

Challenging water rights would be the mother of all water wars, but it may be inevitable if weather patterns continue to change.

About the Author

Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. He began his professional career in 1960, at age 16, at the Humboldt Times. For more columns by Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Russia Says Trump’s Threats Against Iran Could Trigger ‘Global Catastrophe’

DON'T MISS

Get Off the Phone! Fresno Police Target Distracted Driving

DON'T MISS

Federal Reserve Chief Says Trump Tariffs Likely to Raise Inflation and Slow US Economic Growth

DON'T MISS

The NBA’s Playoff Chase Enters Its Final Days. Here’s a Look at What’s Happening

DON'T MISS

USC’s JuJu Watkins Named AP Player of the Year After Historic Sophomore Season

DON'T MISS

Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman Lands on Injured List Following Fall in His Shower at Home

DON'T MISS

How Trump’s Latest Tariffs Could Affect Your Wallet

DON'T MISS

Curry Scores 37 Points and Warriors Beat Lakers in a Potential First-Round Playoff Preview

DON'T MISS

LA Fires Death Toll Rises to 30 After Remains Are Found

DON'T MISS

US Added 228,000 Jobs in March as Economy Showed Strength in Buildup to Trump Trade Wars

UP NEXT

As Dem Candidates for Governor Increase, They Wait for Harris to Decide

UP NEXT

Why Project Labor Agreements Are Good for Our Schools and Students: Opinion

UP NEXT

Progress Picks Up on Well Registration Efforts Among Kings County Landowners

UP NEXT

State Center Trustees Vote for Special Interest Giveaway Over Students: Opinion

UP NEXT

CA Snowpack Is Near-Average. What Does This Mean for Water Supplies?

UP NEXT

I Will Force Votes on Blocking Arms Sales to Israel: Sen. Bernie Sanders

UP NEXT

What Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs Could Mean for Americans: Fareed Zakaria

UP NEXT

Why the Nation Would Be Wise to Support a Third Term Amendment for Donald Trump

UP NEXT

If California Bails Out LA’s $1 Billion Budget Deficit, Beware the Slippery Slope

UP NEXT

Trump Has Had Enough. He Is Not Alone.

The NBA’s Playoff Chase Enters Its Final Days. Here’s a Look at What’s Happening

25 minutes ago

USC’s JuJu Watkins Named AP Player of the Year After Historic Sophomore Season

29 minutes ago

Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman Lands on Injured List Following Fall in His Shower at Home

34 minutes ago

How Trump’s Latest Tariffs Could Affect Your Wallet

43 minutes ago

Curry Scores 37 Points and Warriors Beat Lakers in a Potential First-Round Playoff Preview

43 minutes ago

LA Fires Death Toll Rises to 30 After Remains Are Found

53 minutes ago

US Added 228,000 Jobs in March as Economy Showed Strength in Buildup to Trump Trade Wars

1 hour ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Samantha Jenny Audelo

1 hour ago

Russell Brand Charged With Rape, Sexual Assault

1 hour ago

Israeli Military Orders New Evacuation of Gaza City Neighborhoods

1 hour ago

Russia Says Trump’s Threats Against Iran Could Trigger ‘Global Catastrophe’

Moscow has issued a stern warning against President Trump’s recent threats of military action against Iran, calling such rhetoric R...

14 minutes ago

14 minutes ago

Russia Says Trump’s Threats Against Iran Could Trigger ‘Global Catastrophe’

The Fresno Police Department will conduct an enforcement operation on April 7, 2025, to target drivers violating the hands-free cell phone law, aiming to reduce distracted driving. (Shutterstock)
18 minutes ago

Get Off the Phone! Fresno Police Target Distracted Driving

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference after the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at the Federal Reserve in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
18 minutes ago

Federal Reserve Chief Says Trump Tariffs Likely to Raise Inflation and Slow US Economic Growth

25 minutes ago

The NBA’s Playoff Chase Enters Its Final Days. Here’s a Look at What’s Happening

29 minutes ago

USC’s JuJu Watkins Named AP Player of the Year After Historic Sophomore Season

34 minutes ago

Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman Lands on Injured List Following Fall in His Shower at Home

A hand-embroidery dress fabric made in India, costing a couple hundred dollars per yard, is sold at the Francia Textiles fabric store in the Fashion District in Los Angeles on Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
43 minutes ago

How Trump’s Latest Tariffs Could Affect Your Wallet

43 minutes ago

Curry Scores 37 Points and Warriors Beat Lakers in a Potential First-Round Playoff Preview

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend