OPINION: Conservation Isn’t Enough for California’s Weather Whiplash, We Need Reliable Water

It wasn’t that long ago that drought dominated the West.

From 2014 to 2017 and again from 2021 to 2023, record after record was broken as clear skies and relentless sunshine became the norm. The governor’s office initiated statewide prohibitions on “wasteful water use,” mandating that cities, towns, and urban water suppliers reduce their potable water consumption by 25 percent. Central Valley farms received 8.7 million acre-feet less surface water than in a normal year, forcing growers to pump groundwater to keep permanent crops alive.