08-15-2015, 06:01 AM
Just one contribution to add to this very Cardboard-ish debate on water policy (I say that in the most positive way; what other Sports board witnesses these kinds of extended debates).
While many, at this moment, decry the government regulation of water in California, it's worth remembering that the farming industry, as it is currently set up, and nearly every major city in the state, would not exist without a heavy investment by governments at various levels to create the water works in the first place. The battle over the control of water in the West has been going on since the West was settled and while some might say government always gets in the way and should be minimized as much as possible, its very unlikely that agricultural businesses would have invested the billions of dollars to create the various dams and aqueducts and storage facilities that have facilitated the development of the Central Valley and simultaneously provided water for the brobdingnagian urban centers of California.
I'm not advocating turning back the clock and reverting to California as it was in the 1800s. Just arguing for a bit of historical perspective, that the communities we live in, and the industries that drive the economy of the state, have benefitted from government investment in the state water system (including federal government investment that led to the construction of Shasta dam and the California Water Project, and legislation like the Newlands Reclamation Act that pumped millions of dollars into land projects in the West.) The struggle over how to manage, distribute, and pay for water is endemic to the politics of the Western U.S. (except for the more damp Northwest), and will continue long after we all are gone.
While many, at this moment, decry the government regulation of water in California, it's worth remembering that the farming industry, as it is currently set up, and nearly every major city in the state, would not exist without a heavy investment by governments at various levels to create the water works in the first place. The battle over the control of water in the West has been going on since the West was settled and while some might say government always gets in the way and should be minimized as much as possible, its very unlikely that agricultural businesses would have invested the billions of dollars to create the various dams and aqueducts and storage facilities that have facilitated the development of the Central Valley and simultaneously provided water for the brobdingnagian urban centers of California.
I'm not advocating turning back the clock and reverting to California as it was in the 1800s. Just arguing for a bit of historical perspective, that the communities we live in, and the industries that drive the economy of the state, have benefitted from government investment in the state water system (including federal government investment that led to the construction of Shasta dam and the California Water Project, and legislation like the Newlands Reclamation Act that pumped millions of dollars into land projects in the West.) The struggle over how to manage, distribute, and pay for water is endemic to the politics of the Western U.S. (except for the more damp Northwest), and will continue long after we all are gone.