Yet mammoth as this interlocking system is, it is now proving to be inadequate to supply both the needs of the state's huge agricultural areas, and the state's rapidly growing population. The prospect of major water problems in the near future has become particularly alarming. Many California farmers have already had to abandon crops on account of water shortages during recent dry summers; and in many towns and cities, the sprinklers that traditionally keep the lawns green round suburban homes have been turned off. .