Unprecedented Water War In San Joaquin

20 August 2000 - 10:30am

Westlands deal cites untested 57-year-old statutes to seek a third of San Joaquin's flow.

A new Mason-Dixon line runs down the middle of the San Joaquin Valley where a historic civil war erupted this month between east and west agricultural titans over water for crops worth more than $4 billion annually. It's unprecedented warfare for the San Joaquin River, and the loser could wind up with large chunks of farmland supporting tumbleweeds instead of cotton or grapes.

Source: The Fresno Bee, August 20, 2000
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"This ends up being, to be sure, a second best alternative, but it's better than the third best alternative, which is to do nothing." -- Jerold Kayden