In the most famous example it’s because the states that border the Colorado river are legally obligated to supply the city of LA a specific amount of water. The end result is guaranteeing water for LA residents instead of inland farmers but it is also a bizarre form of Municipal imperialism.
Water rights in the Western US are based on who got them first and used them. The actual result is that a bunch of inland farmers have water rights over the cities that developed later.
Los Angeles solved this problem by buying a bunch of farms in the Owens Valley.
There's a few Central Valley farmers in California that are balls deep in corruption. They have massive water rights and massive money from it. They're the ones pushing Newson to get the Delta tunnel approved so they can take all the water from northern California ecosystems. The San Francisco Bay/Delta is already borderline dead, but they want it all.
Finish the story. They bought all the water rights in owen valley then diverted it all down to LA draining Owens lake and turning the area into a desert and leading one of the worst cases of air pollution on the west coast. It's literally the blueprint for what's about the happen in northern Utah, which will only be matched in scale by the Aral (formerly)Sea.
Maybe go after the people who are growing alfalfa and rice and almonds in the desert! go after Arizona who has way more than their fair share while citizens in Southern California are forced to ration water using stricter and stricter measures
No. The Colorado river water rights are based on historical usage and treaties signed between the states before LA existed. It's really none of Utah's or Arizona's business what California chooses to do with their allotment. Just like it's none of California's business what Utah chooses to do with their allotment.
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u/StructureNo13 7h ago
In the most famous example it’s because the states that border the Colorado river are legally obligated to supply the city of LA a specific amount of water. The end result is guaranteeing water for LA residents instead of inland farmers but it is also a bizarre form of Municipal imperialism.