‘Sharing the Water’

The Times editorial (Sept. 26), “Sharing the Water,” may have given some readers the impression that California should emulate the harsh water policies adopted by Arizona in meeting its water crisis.

While we don’t believe The Times meant to advocate such a course, since circumstances in the two states are very different, the closing paragraph in the editorial may have given this impression when it stated that Southern California, in seeking to offset the loss of some Colorado River water, should “employ the same sort of creativity and tough political decision-making employed by Arizona.”

Arizona, The Times pointed out, forbids farmers from using their Central Arizona Project water to supplement diminishing groundwater supplies, since this project is “primarily an urban water project.” Arizona is also actively engaged in shifting water use from agricultural to urban usage through barter, etc.

Contrariwise, California’s two major water projects, the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project, were specifically designed to provide surplus water to supplement declining agricultural groundwater tables. In fact, the Central Valley Project gives agricultural priority to its water.

The Times editorial stressed that Arizona supports the concept of an open market for water rights in which farmers sell their water rights to cities and commercial interests such as power plants.

In a state such as California, where 85% of the water is used for agriculture, upon which the state economy is heavily dependent for its food supply, jobs and life style, it is inconceivable that the government, by ukase or barter, should raise the price of farm water to the point where our farm economy is crippled or destroyed.

Arizona is a desert state with no reserve water resources other than the Central Arizona Project to meet its growth needs.

California, by its own admission, has 47.9 million acre-feet of undeveloped northern water resources--more than the total consumptive water use in the state today.

California has a man-made water shortage. Arizona is the victim of nature. Adopting Arizona’s so-called “scorched-earth” policy for farmers would be a disaster for California.

JACK W. KEATING

Burbank

Keating is executive manager of the California Water Resources Assn.