but arid south comes via large aqueducts from reservoirs in water-rich Northern California. illustrating once again our inability to price common goods realistically as well as the. political power of California growers, agribusinesses have had to pay only about 5 percent of what it cost taxpayers to deliver water to them over the last forty years. To supply large amounts of such cheap water, major rivers, lakes, and large areas of prime wetlands have been drained, destroying thousands of kilometers of salmon habitat and contaminating rivers and ground water with pesticides and fertilizers. A
five-year drought (1986-1991) reduced irrigation water through the Central Valley project by 75 percent, causing thousands of hectares of cropland to be abandoned. Conflict has long been brewing between farmers (who use 82
percent of the state's water but produce only 2.5 percent of its economic wealth) and the huge cities of Southern California (Los Angeles, San Diego), which draw water not only from Northern California but also from the Colorado River (Miller, 1998: 501). Water resources are so chronically tight in California that some coastal cities (Monterey, Santa Barbara) have considered expensive desalinization projects to convert ocean water into fresh water for municipal use. The social consequences of these shortages are that litigation simmers between states, regions, and people between urban and
rural water users, and innovative water management proposals proliferate.
but arid south comes via large aqueducts from reservoirs in water-rich Northern California. illustrating once again our inability to price common goods realistically as well as the. political power of California growers, agribusinesses have had to pay only about 5 percent of what it cost taxpayers to deliver water to them over the last forty years. To supply large amounts of such cheap water, major rivers, lakes, and large areas of prime wetlands have been drained, destroying thousands of kilometers of salmon habitat and contaminating rivers and ground water with pesticides and fertilizers. A five-year drought (1986-1991) reduced irrigation water through the Central Valley project by 75 percent, causing thousands of hectares of cropland to be abandoned. Conflict has long been brewing between farmers (who use 82 percent of the state's water but produce only 2.5 percent of its economic wealth) and the huge cities of Southern California (Los Angeles, San Diego), which draw water not only from Northern California but also from the Colorado River (Miller, 1998: 501). Water resources are so chronically tight in California that some coastal cities (Monterey, Santa Barbara) have considered expensive desalinization projects to convert ocean water into fresh water for municipal use. The social consequences of these shortages are that litigation simmers between states, regions, and people between urban and rural water users, and innovative water management proposals proliferate.
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