California’s Central Valley, a 20,000 square-mile stretch bound by the Sierra Nevada on the east and the California Coast Ranges on the west, is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world, supplying more than half of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts grown in the United States. Affectionately nicknamed “America’s salad bowl”, it is the world’s largest patch of class-1 soil, temperatures are ideal, and the sun shines nearly 300 days out of the year. Yet, passing through the valley is a confusing experience. The landscape forms a patchwork, as dilapidated rural communities covered in a thick layer of brown dust are mysteriously punctuated by expansive plots of lush cropland. Mile after mile, the valley’s main artery, Interstate 5, seems torn between two distinctly different realities.
The juxtaposition of these two realities indicates that the Central Valley is in a water crisis. The climate is dry, and agricultural productivity of the area depends entirely on large-scale irrigation infrastructure, such as the 1933 Central Valley Water Project and the 1960 California State Water Project. Together, these projects have plumbed the valley with an extensive network of dams, aqueducts, and reservoirs. Now, there are years when the existing infrastructure isn’t enough. From 2011-2017 California experienced one of the most intense droughts on record, and some farmers received no water at all.
To make up for this shortfall, many farmers instead turned to groundwater, drilling deeper and deeper wells to tap into underground aquifers. This can provide a quick fix, but over time groundwater depletion causes land subsidence, infrastructure damage, decreased water quality and local exposure to harmful substances, and geologic effects. The original solution of diverting surface water using irrigation technology is also environmentally harmful, causing habitat destruction as well as changes to erosion and sedimentation rates.
From a purely environmental standpoint, perhaps this area of California simply shouldn’t be farmland. But if the Central Valley suddenly stopped producing, American agriculture would collapse. How much would the price of fruits and vegetables jump if 50% of the U.S supply was suddenly cut? Realistically, prices have the potential to grow high enough to threaten food security for vulnerable groups across the entire nation. Rural communities in California also depend on the industry, which provides over 250,000 jobs to an area that has long suffered from chronic poverty and unemployment.
The Central Valley water crisis is not only an environmental problem, but one of economics, of human rights, and of the overall sustainability of America’s food systems. What can we do, and who bears the burden of our actions, and what does this say about the nature of our relationship with each other, with our food, and with the environment?