Water costs are confusing — even for the experts. A new study shows huge differences in what cities and farm water districts pay for supplies from rivers and reservoirs in California, Arizona, and Nevada.
That’s because they legally have to. Land owners with appropriative water rights must use their water or they lose access to it, forever. Flooding a low value field is the logical thing to do, even if it’s an unreasonable thing to do.
And then they use it to flood irrigate things that don’t need to be flood irrigated.
That’s because they legally have to. Land owners with appropriative water rights must use their water or they lose access to it, forever. Flooding a low value field is the logical thing to do, even if it’s an unreasonable thing to do.