California's Messy Water Works

I can't say that I didn't see this coming: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials have decided to shut down the water tap to millions of acres of California farmland. This announcement came after months of record low water levels in many of the reservoirs that constitute the federal water system in California. Patchy rain hasn't either.

Water in California is simply liquid gold. It always has been and it will always be the case. Mark Twain once said that "Whiskey is for drinkin', water is for fighting over." Fighting indeed. The Army Corp and the Bureau of Reclamation competed at break neck speed to build as many dams, canals or waterways as they could, regardless of necessity. There were no considerations for environmental costs. The only consideration was distribution: get as much water as one could, to go as far as one could make it go, not matter what the cost. Indeed, California is also the place where water is said to flow uphill: Uphill to money.

The bulk of California's water supply, about 80%, originates in the upper 1/3 of the state, north of Sacramento.

The bulk of the demand, about 80% originates in the lower 2/3 of the state with competing demands between farming and the booming SoCal metropolis commonly referred to as Los Angeles. Needless to say, the competing interests are intense and often have far reaching consequences. During the early 1900s, the Governor of Arizona went so far as to call up the state militia to protect the Colorado river from California's unquenchable thirst. The states continue to struggle with use of the Colorado river.

In any case, the impending federal regulations will negatively affect millions of acres of California farmland during a time when the economy already sucks. It is expected that the drought conditions will cause some $1.15 billion dollars in economy losses and put 40,000 people out of work.

Cities will likely begin mandatory water rationing by the summer. Like many things in California, water politics are complex.

You can read a brief primer of California's water history here. Read about sharing the Colorado River with Arizona here.