For a drought-stricken state, California’s water policy...

For a drought-stricken state, California’s water policy doesn’t make much sense, says maverick environmentalist Marc Reisner.

A third of our water goes to raising “monsoon-climate crops” like rice, alfalfa, cotton and irrigated pasture, he says. Yet municipalities across the state are turning to mandatory water rationing in the face of a withering five-year drought, and salmon hatcheries are drying up, endangering the continued existence of Sacramento River and San Francisco Bay salmon species.

To produce a single two-pound slab of California beef, Reisner says, it takes the equivalent of all the water one person uses in a year for daily five-minute showers. Water the pasture, grow the alfalfa, feed the steer, dole out the steak--but don’t let the waiter serve water with it.

“In 1988 we raised 2 million acres of grass and alfalfa in California,” says Reisner. “Doesn’t it make more sense to import more beef and dairy products from states where grass and alfalfa grow on rain than to dream of importing other states’ rain?”

Reisner, the author of “Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water” and the nation’s leading advocate of “water perestroika ,” appears at Claremont McKenna College on Wednesday evening to talk about the California’s internecine rivalries--between North and South, between farmers and the cities--for command of the water supply. Reisner also wrote, with Sarah Bates, “Overtapped Oasis: Reform or Revolution in Western Water Policy.”

His address--”California Water Wars”--will be presented at the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum at 7 p.m. Admission is free.

At the same time, Descanso Gardens offers a different approach to drought anxieties. Garden superintendent Steven Cohan will talk about maintaining home landscaping under drought conditions. He’ll describe, among other things, drip irrigation, special hand-watering techniques and preparing the soil for water conservation.

“Growing With the Drought” will be presented at Descanso Gardens’ Van de Kamp Hall, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Admission is $10.