Looming Water Crisis Reminds us of Past Events

Ethan Tucker

We are currently researching water conservation and interviewed George Shea last Tuesday, who went over the history of water and the state of water today. I found many aspects on the interview very compelling and interesting. Out of all of them, probably the most mind-blowing part was the percent of water used for agriculture in California. 83% of all the water used in California is used for agricultural purposes. Since California grows a very large percentage of the nations fruits and vegetables the high use of water in the agricultural field would make sense. The part of this that is most surprising to me is that of that 83%, a half is being used to grow alfalfa and hay feed for cows.   Pasture and hayfields consume more water than any other crop in California, and use upwards of a third of all water used for irrigation. Cows are not very adaptive to dry environment so they take a lot of water to stay healthy. It takes more than 3,000 gallons of water, from both making the feed and drinking water for the cows, to make just one steak.

What simply boggles my mind, is the fact that 75% of California is desert, but the majority of the nations fruits and vegetables are grown right here in California. Why would we choose to grow that much produce in a state that is mostly desert? It takes so much more water to keep the land good for farming than it would in other places in the United States. So why here? I just do not understand or have an answer.

I was also fascinated with the story of Owens Valley. I personally had never heard the story before and am not sure how well known it is, but it is a story very worth passing on. Owens Valley was a prosperous little place near what is now Los Angeles. Los Angeles itself was just beginning to grow as a city, but was located in a desert with no water around to use at all. Their solution was very devious and destructive. They bought the land around the lake in Owens Valley, which was the closest water source to the growing city, and built an aqueduct all the way to the city. Los Angeles grew and grew, and with the growing needed more and more water to keep the growing population quenched of their thirsts. Quickly the lake began to shrink until what it is today, only a mere puddle to what it was in all of its glory.

All of this said, it can still get worse. California is in the midst of a very severe drought. Even with the current downpour of rain the state is still far behind its average rainfall. It is finally catching up the farming and agriculture industries. They chose to make California a mostly agricultural place when it is mostly desert. It is a bigger scale version of what happened at Los Angeles and Owens Valley. What has happened in the past will happen again, resources will be exhausted because people tried to make something out of nothing; desert into fertile, lush land.

Earthscope Reporter,

Ethan Tucker  

(Owens Valley now)