Mismanagement of Water in California

California and the rest of the West are in the middle of a twelve year drought, and water isn’t getting any easier to come by.  Last year, Marin County got less than 20% of the rainfall it was expected to get, a pattern that has not changed throughout the past couple of years. The recent rainfall hasn’t changed this. Although this can be partially blamed on the changing climate and weather patterns due to global warming, mismanagement of the water that California does have isn’t helping the issue.

The majority of the state of California is covered in desert. Before irrigation, Southern California, including the Central Valley where the majority of California’s agricultural businesses are, was desert. There is nowhere near enough natural water in that area to keep pace with the rapidly growing metropolis of Los Angeles or the large agro-businesses of the Central Valley. The water that keeps these places alive today has been shipped in from other parts of the state, usually the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in many cases destroying land and natural resources in the process.

Las Vegas has recently decided to implement a $700 million project to take more water off of Lake Mead, to deal with the loss of water in the area. A new tunnel is going to be built, along with a new siphon, because the siphon previously used is now above water level. The Colorado River is also drying up, not because of the drought, but because its feeder rivers have been dammed so much that there is not enough water to make it down the river. The Ogallala Aquifer in the Midwest is going dry as well, which is going to mean bad news for  people across the west, especially those in cities and farmers.

However, much of this water is not actually needed by the people of California. The number one use of water in California is agriculture, not domestic use. Under the category of agriculture, the most water guzzling products are alfalfa, rice, and beef. It is not necessary for California to produce any of these products. There are many other places in the United States where water is more readily attainable and where these products could be easily manufactured, without contributing to the drought which threatens the state.  It’s easy now with the current technology and data on farming practices to know where the best places to plant are and when and how much to water crops. The important thing is to use this information to increase productivity and sustainability in agriculture.

These issues surrounding California and the rest of the West’s water are not going to go away. The drought that the West has been dealing with for the past twelve years shows no signs of abating anytime soon. The current irrigation practices have been detrimental to natural resources, and they will continue to be needed more and more as the water supply diminishes. Something needs to be done, and soon, in order to stop the mismanagement of water.

-Kate Iida

This article was based on an interview with George Shea.

Dried up irrigation in California