We interpret the state of California’s water using unconnected numbers. In January it was 0%, as in zero percent of the state was in drought. Good news! In April it was 18%, as in a mountain snowpack at 18% of normal. Bad news. In March it was 122%, as in the state’s reservoirs holding 122% of what they would normally be holding this time of year. Good news! But in February it was 20%, as in the allocation from the Central Valley Project to San Joaquin Valley farmers. Bad news.
By Tom Holyoke
Laura Ramos
Opinion
Are we in a good place waterwise, or not? Our reservoirs are currently filling rapidly with fresh mountain run-off, yet there are rumblings of a dire hot and dry summer approaching. How can this be? Do we really allow 78% of potential irrigation water to flow into the ocean, as those signs along San Joaquin Valley highways claim? Not everyone agrees this is true. Why is east-side agriculture, where irrigation water comes from Millerton Lake via the Friant-Kern Canal, so affected by the Shasta Reservoir, hundreds of miles to the north? Why does the rapid decline in the Colorado River, a water source for Los Angeles and Imperial Valley, affect negotiations over Delta water, and even the level of little Mono Lake?
At a recent gubernatorial debate at California State University, Fresno, questions about water were asked of the six candidates who showed up, one question very pointedly asking about how the Delta works and why it is so important to the state’s water. No candidate appeared able to give a clear answer. Could most Californians do any better?
Of course experts who live and breathe water seven days a week do understand the state’s true water conditions, or can at least estimate it with some precision. But why don’t most of us who live in California, who hear these numbers every month, who live in this hot, semi-arid to arid state (well, most of it anyway) that is so dependent on water and our ability to store it and move it, understand how its intricate water conveyance system and Byzantine water policies actually work?
Water Education Is Essential in California
Perhaps we need to require water education. Over the last few years, state lawmakers have decided to have all high school and university students take ethic studies courses to better understand and appreciate the state’s diversity, and this comes on top of requirements already in place to take courses on American and Californian history and government. If water is so essential, why not require a course on it?
What would a university course look like? Would it focus on types of irrigation for different kinds of Valley crops and which require the most water? Would it be on water quality and the harmful effects of nitrates and arsenic on people who drink it? Would it be on the declines of California’s wetlands and native fish species, such as those in the Delta whose march towards extinction have caused so much angst? Would it be about the policies of the state and federal governments that built our great water systems, like the Central Valley Project and State Water Project, back in times when our values were different? Would it prioritize farmers, or fish, those thirsty folks in southern California, or AI data centers (all of whom need water)? The very idea of a course is controversial.
At least it might help students gain a better understanding of those numbers mentioned above. Yes, California was drought-free in January, but even after our very wet February, the U.S. Drought Monitor says we are sliding back into it. Yes, the Sierra snowpack is at 18% of normal, but, as noted, the reservoirs are full of water because March was so warm and the snow that had been there has already melted, reducing the snowpack. The reservoir water may well be gone by July.
Finally, though, while headlines are of 20% CVP allocations, the Bureau of Reclamation says that north-of-Delta contractors are getting 100%, so are many in-Delta water users, and the San Joaquin Valley Exchange Contractors are also getting 100%.
Water in California is complicated, and it is contentious, and it is poorly understood, even by the political class. To solve our water problems and hold our leaders accountable, we need (and they need) a much better understanding of how California water works and what can, and cannot, be done. That way all of these numbers-of-the-month will make a little more sense and people can better connect the dots.
And now … a 25% chance of a very strong El Nino this year. Good news! Or bad news. Who knows?
About the Authors
Tom Holyoke is professor of Political Science at California State University, Fresno, and (in the interest of full disclosure) teaches a course on California water policy. Laura Ramos is director of the California Water Institute at California State University, Fresno.
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