The water crisis in California is a complex issue that has been prevalent for many years. The crisis Californians are facing is not going away any time soon, and it has only gotten worse. California, one of the largest states, is faced with being in a long-term drought and is one of the biggest agricultural states that provides billions each year in revenue. The farming aspect is one piece of the puzzle that coincides with how to regulate how much water farmers should get and how to allocate enough for the state's communities. Another part of the problem is the drought which is not going away and has been exacerbated by continual dry years. The state has regulated farmers, and California, which gets a lot of its water from the mountains, is being sent out into the Pacific Ocean for environmental purposes. Water is one of the most complex problems in the state, causing many to either have access to limited amounts or, in some cases, communities to be left dealing with contaminated water. The dispersal of water throughout the state is a challenge and adds the farming aspect to it. There are limited solutions because of the amount of water that farmers use, which is forty percent which is a large sum. When it comes to big cities like Los Angeles and San Fransisco, there will only be a few more years until there is a large-scale problem in how many years are left until having little to no rain will be acceptable. This issue affects all Californians, and I personally have a connection to this issue because my family is involved in water law which plays a very significant role in this crisis and helping to fix it. Water lawyers and other individuals such as politicians and advocacy groups will continue to eliminate policies to deal with the rise in population.
The drought the state of California is in has been prevalent for years now and has gotten worse year by year. A part of California's problem has had relatively dry years, and big cities such as San Fransisco and Los Angeles are in big trouble in terms of how long they can last with these dry years ahead. It is a problem that will burst in years to come for the big cities. The drought brings on disasters for California, such as what has struck the state in the worst possible way, which is the fires. These fires are more prone to occur when it is very dry and when there is little to no rain. In other words, “the engineering that made settling west possible may have reached the bounds of its potential” (Pro-Publica, 7). The size of California has to do with the drought and the use of crops that demand lots of water makes it even harder to solve the problem since California is one of the largest agricultural states. The government is sending large sums of money to compensate communities, and they are concepts such as converting ocean water into drinking water, which is being done in various areas throughout the state. Desalinating ocean water is currently happening and the city of San Diego is using this method to allocate more water for their city, this is one of many solutions that will be able to manage the drought problem in California. Ultimately, the drought in California affects more than just Californians, it affects the country’s profits, which is a long-term underlying issue. Due to the lack of water, certain agricultural crops that are not valuable in little amounts and use a lot of water should be grown in states with a large sum of water. This concept would save the water needed for the most valuable crops and help even out the use of water. The overall rights of water use are mismanaged and policies in place may cost double what it would be in another city depending on the policies in place.
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In terms of the water crisis, another aspect of the problem is overpopulation, which is a large part of the problem. California is an overpopulated state with repercussions such as long-term problems that cause chaos in how much water is available after the farmers get their piece of it. Overpopulation is something that will continue to get worse as the state gets bigger and illegal immigration is fueling the fire. The state of California can barely manage those in the state as it is, and with more coming to the state illegally, it is making it a more significant challenge to allocate resources such as water throughout areas of the state, and overpopulation means water will be a very pricey commodity in the near future. There has been an increase in population that has grown by millions from forty years ago when it was a sign of 10 million. The state will continue to grow and the areas that are not enriched with water are suffering because most of the population is in regions where the water is not. Most of California’s water is up north, and as you continue to go south, there is much less water accessible. Another example of the issue with water being mostly in the non-populated areas is: “Close to two-thirds of the state’s population is bunched in a few water-dependent coastal cities” (Sewall, 8). This textual evidence expresses the issue of positioning where the majority of the population of California is in regards to how the water is in an opposite area, which is an issue at hand.
The water crisis is fueled by the number of water farmers use, which is a large portion of the water each year. There have been many steps to regulate how much water farmers use and charge large amounts on a certain amount of water they use, limiting some use, but some farmers still use more water than they need. The problem is that “water is a scarce source that must be allocated; the best way to allocate any resource is to ensure that it goes to the highest valued use” (Lazear, 11) This exemplifies how water, among other things, should be appropriately allocated, and this needs to happen to cut down on the use of water and make sure it is used correctly without wasting the supply of water. The most important aspect of California is water and the use of water which is used as a way of power, especially in the Central Valley of California. The Central Valley being the largest part of California’s farming industry is home to key suppliers of products such as Wonderful Pistachios and Cuties which are known worldwide. These large-scale operations take up a lot of water, and this is just to name a few who have operations that are thousands of acres. For example, farmers get more than seventy percent of the water that is available, which is outrageous when you consider factors such as industrial use and use in major cities. Farmers are critical to providing the food we eat, but for many years farmers used the method of flood irrigation that used a lot of water and is part of the reason why farmers are to blame. This method of flood irrigation uses way more water than needed to water crops and now with today’s technology it has become more scientific and the water methods can reduce water waste. There are automated systems that utilize sprinklers that make it easier to water crops. Some crops make farmers a lot of money and our specialty items such as pistachios but this is a crop that is not really necessary in providing a crop that is needed.
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