Editorial: California’s most pressing need — water
Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the April 1, 2016, Sacramento Bee.
As if we needed more proof, the Sierra snow survey last week made clear that Californians must continue to conserve water while working to build a more reliable water system.
The snowpack is roughly normal in Northern California. But the situation is worse in Southern California, where El Niño was a bust, delivering half of normal rainfall.
Yet more evidence arrived Friday in the form of a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announcement that while many customers will receive adequate water from the Central Valley Project, farmers on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley will receive a mere 5 percent of their contracted allocation.
California’s existing plumbing is in need of help. The state must protect the environment, but also ensure a reliable water delivery system.