Water Becomes Hot Political Issue in California
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (ANS)--Water board elections are fast becoming the most hotly contested races in California as the power to allocate water is recognized as a critical link in growth management decisions.
Statewide, citizens on March 7 will vote up or down Proposition 13, which would issue some $2 billion in bonds to help restore the degraded Bay delta region near Sacramento. The majority of Californians rely on this ecosystem for their water and its clean-up has an estimated final price tag of $10 billion.
As California cities surge in population and thirst, a system of water allocation that is both market-driven and equitable is essential, according to Brent Haddad, author "Rivers of Gold: Designing Markets to Allocate Water in California."
Haddad spent five years writing the book that is based on case studies of market trading in natural resources. He argues that the state must manage its water resources in a way that respects the inevitable losses for rural communities, that hold the lion's share of water rights.
Almost all of California's developed water supply is already allocated. Farmers and irrigation districts hold the vast majority--around 85 percent--of water contracts with state and federal governments. But as the economic and demographic clout of cities grows, water ranching, or the purchase of farmland for water alone, could result. …