California Water Ii

This book is an account of how water rights were designed as a key part of the state’s largest public water system, the Central Valley Project. Along sixty miles of the San Joaquin River, from Gustine to Mendota, four corporate entities called “exchange contractors” retain paramount water rights to the river. Their rights descend from the days of the Miller & Lux Cattle Company, which amassed an empire of land and water from the 1850s through the 1920s and protected these assets through business deals and prolific litigation. Miller & Lux’s dominance of the river relied on what many in the San Joaquin Valley regarded as wasteful irrigation practices and unreasonable water usage. Economic and political power in California’s present water system was born of this monopoly on water control. Stroshane tells how drought and legal conflict shaped statewide economic development and how the grand bargain of a San Joaquin River water exchange was struck from this monopoly legacy, setting the stage for future water wars. His analysis will appeal to readers interested in environmental studies and public policy.

"Water scarcity, urban population growth, and deteriorating infrastructure impact water security around the globe. As California wrestles with the most significant drought in its recorded history, struggling to secure reliable water supplies for the future, it faces all of these crises. The story of California water, its history and its future, includes cautions and solutions for any region seeking to manage water among the pressures of a dynamic society and environment. Written by leading policy makers, lawyers, economists, hydrologists, ecologists, engineers and planners, Sustainable Water reaches across disciplines, uncovering connections and intersections. The solutions and provocations put forward in this book integrate water management strategies to increase resilience in a changing world"--Provided by publisher.

"This interdisciplinary compilation of papers features recent developments of various types of artificial recharge, as well as both successful and unsuccessful case histories of projects from twenty-three countries and numerous states. Contributing engineers and scientists exchange their experiences and findings to promote the transfer of information between developed and underdeveloped countries and to provide an educational resource for communication with those who are not water scientists, such as planners, lawyers, regulators, and the public in general. Directions by which cities or other governments can save funds by having reasonable technical guidelines for implementation of a recharge project are suggested. Surface- and well-type recharge; aquifer storage and recovery; wastewater and storm water recharge; salt water intrusion control; water quality impacts; well clogging and recharge to hard rock aquifers are addressed."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved