Water Transport Charges and the California Divide: Implications of Ruling for Future State Capital Water Projects

摘要

Mentioning water in California has often meant starting a feud between the northern and southern parts of the state. This is not without good reason because two thirds of the state's precipitation falls in the less-populated north, whereas two thirds of the people who need that water live in the south. In recent years, the dividing lines have intensified as the state's population has grown, lower precipitation rates persist, and pumping restrictions in the Bay Delta-one of California's chief water supplies-take their toll. California legislators ended their 2009 regular session in a sea of unfinished business, highlighted by the failure of an anticipated deal to revamp the state's aging water system.