Since the days of the Gold Rush, “groundwater has been considered a property right; landowners are entitled to what’s beneath them,” says the Los Angeles Times; California is the only state in the West that does not regulate groundwater. Lawmakers and Gov Jerry Brown are working on legislation that would direct local agencies to draft plans by 2020 to manage their groundwater. California is in the third year of drought and a recent report by UC-Davis said increased pumping of groundwater has offset much of the lost snowmelt and precipitation.
“Past efforts to enact statewide groundwater management have fizzled. Resistance remains, particularly among agricultural interests that are still deeply suspicious of state interference,” says the Times. The increased reliance on ground water has amplified concern about governmental regulation of it. Agricultural interests say one of their concerns is a loss in the value of farmland if water supplies come under control. The legislature is in the final month of its session, so a decision may come soon.
Besides more efficient water use, California growers are likely to grow different crops than now, says Bloomberg. “In the long term, California will probably move away from commodity crops produced in bulk elsewhere to high-value products that make more money for the water used, said Richard Howitt, a farm economist at the University of California at Davis. The state still has advantages in almonds, pistachios and wine grapes, and its location means it will always be well- situated to export what can be profitably grown.” Corn and cotton plantings are down steeply in recent years and Bloomberg says total farmland in the state may shrink in a dry future.