There is no privatization effort. Public agencies operating under “sunshine” laws are leading this effort, led by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. There is no significant private water conveyance system in the state – all are either federally or state owned, i.e., publicly owned. There are no “new dams” in the recently passed legislation – at most one new reservoir, more probably it will be groundwater storage. No rivers will be sucked dry because the entire concept’s success hinges on the successful restoration of the Delta – without that, it won’t be possible under today’s environmental laws to continue to pull water from it. Even then, the plan is to never exceed established withdrawal levels; there is no plan, and no way, to extract more.

There are plenty of small farmers throughout the Central Valley. When was the last time you visited there? I have traveled there and I’ve seen them and talked to them. They are not myth, and they need water if they are to continue to grow YOUR fruits and vegetables.

Resnik is one guy with one large ag operation, but he hardly is some Wizard of Oz behind the curtain. He’s a relatively small player in California water – just another agricultural water user, albeit a big one. Farm operations, while they got a pathway to a more reliable water source in the recent legislation, were powerless to stop provisions requiring monitoring and reporting on groundwater levels, new conservation requirements on farms, and new provisions to prosecute illegal water diversions – so where’s his mighty power? (I am totally with you on Fiji Water though; there is no place for bottled water in our system any more.)

The water crisis is real. The fix is complicated and expensive. Without it, the California economy will crash and crash hard, with very real and very human pain and suffering. To learn more about water follow www (dot) twitter (dot) com (slash) LPAwater.