Drought, Water Law, and the Origins of California's Central Valley Project

Drought, Water Law, and the Origins of California's Central Valley Project PDF

Author: Tim Stroshane

Publisher: University of Nevada Press

Published: 2016-10-27

Total Pages: 429

ISBN-13: 087417001X

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This book is an account of how water rights were designed as a key part of the state’s largest public water system, the Central Valley Project. Along sixty miles of the San Joaquin River, from Gustine to Mendota, four corporate entities called “exchange contractors” retain paramount water rights to the river. Their rights descend from the days of the Miller & Lux Cattle Company, which amassed an empire of land and water from the 1850s through the 1920s and protected these assets through business deals and prolific litigation. Miller & Lux’s dominance of the river relied on what many in the San Joaquin Valley regarded as wasteful irrigation practices and unreasonable water usage. Economic and political power in California’s present water system was born of this monopoly on water control. Stroshane tells how drought and legal conflict shaped statewide economic development and how the grand bargain of a San Joaquin River water exchange was struck from this monopoly legacy, setting the stage for future water wars. His analysis will appeal to readers interested in environmental studies and public policy.

Central Valley Project, California

Central Valley Project, California PDF

Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation

Publisher:

Published: 1944

Total Pages: 528

ISBN-13:

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Considers legislation to revise farm acreage restrictions for irrigation and land reclamation projects in California and to authorize Federal acquisition of California farm lands exceeding acreage restrictions for resale to WWII veterans, July 24-26 hearings were held in Sacramento, Calif.; July 27 hearing was held in Fresno, Calif.; July 28 morning and afternoon session hearings were held in Hanford, Calif.; July 28 evening session and July 29 hearings were held in Bakersfield, Calif.