By Alastair Bland, Cal Matters
Water plays a lead role in the state’s political theater, with Democrats and Republicans polarized, farmers often fighting environmentalists and cities pitted against rural communities. Rivers are overallocated through sloppy water accounting. Groundwater has dwindled as farmers overdraw aquifers. Many communities lack safe drinking water. Native Americans want almost-extinct salmon runs revived. There is talk, too, of new water projects, including a massive new tunnel costing billions of dollars.
Scientists say climate change will bring more unpredictable weather, warmer winters and less snowpack in the mountains. These challenges and some ideas for remedies are outlined in a plan, called the California Water Resilience Portfolio, released by Gov. Gavin Newsom in early 2020 to a mix of praise and disappointment.
Below, an explanation of the state’s water development — as well as the challenges, today and tomorrow, of providing water for California’s people, places and wildlife.
Graphics by Elizabeth Castillo
This explainer was supported by a grant from The Water Desk, an independent journalism initiative based at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Center for Environmental Journalism.
