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Ignoring Limits of Water Use
Developers have been known to display
unrealistic optimism that sufficient water will be located for their projects.
The history of southern California has
evolved through an inescapable dichotomy—the scarcity of water and
continued burgeoning development. This desert, extending from the state's
southeastern border to the Pacific shore, has few natural water sources. Though
it is only during times of drought that this fact is given credence. It may be
fairly said, considering the pressure of population, that "drought" is
the prevailing climate. When the rains finally come, often all at once, water
then becomes a great destructive force in a land, alternately, of none and too
much. One of the nation's greatest disasters—the
1928 Saint Francis Dam break which killed over 400 citizens of Santa Paula in
Ventura County—was spawned by a failed attempt to store precious imported
water.
Fetching Water A cycle without end—this imperfect
circle of growth began in the early 20th century when the small community of Los
Angeles developed at a rate that outstripped its water supply. Water imported—some
say "stolen"—from the Owens Valley in the eastern Sierra met the
needs of the city. The Los Angeles Aqueduct, an engineering marvel that was
dedicated in 1913, carried water 250 miles south without the use of pumping
stations. This new abundance of water was supplied to other communities as well,
providing a source of confidence that development in the region could proceed
unhindered. The "California Dream" was born.Land speculation mushroomed as the
region's Mediterranean climate—promoted by railroad and real estate
interests—plus this new source of water, drew home and land buyers. By
1939, a continually growing thirst was temporarily abated with additional water
coming from the Colorado River through a 240-mile aqueduct. Still more water was
imported from the Sacramento River via the California Aqueduct beginning in
1973. As each new water source quelled fears of shortages it led to even more
development, in turn, leading to increased, never-ending demand for water.
Independent SuppliesAs the millennium approaches is it
clear that the numbers no longer add up as demand outstrips supply. Economic and
political pressure, no matter how forceful and insistent, cannot create water.
Increasingly, communities dependent on the Metropolitan Water District's
imported water supply are looking elsewhere, trying to locate alternate sources
or to conserve what is available. Ventura County is developing its
aquifers for underground storage. When full, they provide several year's supply
for the area. San Diego County—a reluctant MWD customer since WWII when a
huge wartime population increased its need—is striking a deal with the
Imperial Valley's Imperial Irrigation District to shift water from certain
farmlands to heavily-populated areas on the coast. MWD, itself, is building the Eastside
Reservoir near Hemet, a storage facility in a dry valley that will be filled
with imported water and which will provide not only for routine need, but is
envisioned as an emergency source of water south of the San Andreas Fault should
earthquakes cut off the California and Los Angeles aqueducts.
Sources Drying Up The overall prospect for providing
southern California with reliable water for its present population is unlikely
to improve. It clearly has the potential to get much worse when one considers:
- California has been overdrawing its allotment of Colorado River water by 20 percent. Of the seven states and Mexico entitled to this water, California is by far the biggest user. A dispute over the agreement—The Colorado River Compact—that apportions the water that had been ongoing between California and Arizona for decades was settled in Arizona's favor.
- The "peripheral canal" measure—which would have captured western Sierra water before it could reach the San Francisco Bay-Delta, then to be shipped south, was defeated in 1982 but the dispute continues anew over a similar diversionary canal proposal.
- Plans floated to import water from as far away as Washington and Alaska are opposed, particularly by those expected to supply the water.
Pollyanna, Incorporated
As the problem of quenching the thirst
of the current California population grinds on, developers draw plans to
increase the population— and the thirst. A project that has particularly
stirred opposition is the Newhall Ranch development (see
Part II of this series).The economic vitality that is returning
to California after years of uncertainty—military base closures; industry
flight to other less-regulatory, tax-friendly states; a disastrous decline in
real estate values and industrial occupancy; waning tax revenue—is bringing
with it a resurgence of building. Good news for investors, new jobs for the
state's workers—but a new round of increasing water demand for the
inevitable population boom.Continued in
Part II of this series.Seeding | LEAF-let Newsletter | Bioregions | Catalog & Orders | Albright Info