California Water Crisis and Conflict
Crisis
- Long history of fast increasing population; demands for water exceeds natural supplies
(human factor)
- 75% of population live south of Sacramento but 75% of precipitation falls to the north
(human and physical factors)
Physical Factors
- Annual precipitation between 200-500mm meaning much of California is arid
- 65% of precipitation is lost through evapotranspiration
- The Castal Ranges and Sierra Nevada Mountains cause a rainfall shadow over the south
and far east (including Death Valley), leading to under 100mm of precipitation
- El Nino events can bring above average levels of surface run off and flooding to the
south-west while the la Nina events often bring drought to the area
- Climate change lead to the worst drought between 2012 and 2014 in 1200 years for the
state
Human factors
- 80% of water used in farming
- 1.6 million hectares of land are still flood irrigated – an inefficient method
- Population growth – in 1970 around 20 million, now around 39 million – almost doubled
Solutions
- San Diego is aiming to reduce daily water use per person by 9 gallons by 2035 and is
using water purification technology to enable the use of rainwater harvesting systems
and greywater recycling.
- Large companies are also getting in on the action – Holiday Inn Diamond Bar in
California has reduced water use by 16% since installing 186 water efficient toilets.
- Nearly half of farmers now use advanced scientific methods that improve the efficiency
of irrigations such as implementing drip and sprinkler systems
- In 2016, California took the lead among U.S. states in addressing climate change by
extending legislation to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
- Targeting both power plants and vehicles, the state committed to the goal of curbing
carbon emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030.
Conflicts
- In the Shasta Cascade region (northern California), conflicts over Shasta River water
between environmentalist regulators, the indigenous population and farmers
- During a drought in 2022, an emergency order was set up to prohibit ranchers and
farmers from diverting water from the Shasta River
- However, the ranchers defied orders, collecting water for a week, arguing the lack of
water was drying up livestock feed, forcing them to sell livestock
- But regulators, environmental groups and Indigenous nations in the region say the
diversions came at a much greater cost: a risk to fish, including protected salmon
species, for whom the river is a crucial habitat – growing tension
- Becoming more common due to climate change – conflicts only going to get worse
Ranchers’ rebellion: the Californians breaking water rules in a punishing drought | Climate crisis
in the American west | The Guardian
