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Opinion: Colorado River Water Fight that Pit California Against the West May Evaporate — For Now

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

When California and six other Western states failed to meet a Jan. 31 federal deadline for deciding how to allocate water from the drought-ravaged Colorado River that supplies drinking water to 40 million people — 1 in 8 Americans — it was the Golden State that called the others all wet.

Citing the labyrinthine world of vested water rights, which guarantees it the most water from the 1,450-mile-long river, California objected to a plan backed by the other states — Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah — on the grounds it should not have to bear an equal share of the federal government’s call for an annual reduction in Colorado River water of at least 15 percent.

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OPINION: Newsom Most Likely To Stand Up For Our Region In Water Fight

/in , /by /The Modesto Bee

California’s governor is important not just here, but across the nation and even around the world, so it matters whom we choose to lead our great state. At the risk of sounding irredeemably self-centered, it matters even more here in the Northern San Joaquin Valley. That’s because our region of 1 million is under attack by the State Water Resources Control Board. The next governor must not only understand our battle, but be willing to rein in an out-of-control state agency or at least alter the conversation.

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