Introduction to
WATER IN CALIFORNIA

by David Carle, Retrired CSPRA Member

More Info. #76 in the California Natural History Guide series. 137 color photographs, 27 color maps, 7 line drawings.  UC Press online catalog

"This book engages readers at a personal level."--Donald Pisani, author of Water and American Government

"Water is the foundation upon which California's ecosystems and economic vitality rise. . . . This is a must read for anyone living in California, whether they are students, politicians, farmers, environmental activists, or corporate executives."--Arthur Guy Baggett, Jr., Chair, California State Water Resources Control Board

"This is a comprehensive, readable natural history guide to an extremely complicated subject. It interweaves the historical, human, and technological factors with the ecological and environmental realities."--Pam Lloyd, former Chair of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, S.F. Bay Region

It takes 8 gallons of water to grow a tomato; 616 gallons to make a burger patty. In fact, the food each of us consumes per day represents an investment of 4,500 gallons of water, according to the California Farm Bureau. In this densely populated state where it rains only six months out of the year, where does all that water come from? This thoroughly engaging, concise book tells the story of California's most precious resource, tracing the journey of water in the state from the atmosphere to the snowpack to our faucets and foods. Along the way, we learn much about California itself as the book describes its rivers, lakes, wetlands, dams, and aqueducts and discusses the role of water in agriculture, the environment, and politics. Essential reading for a state facing the future with an already overextended water supply, this fascinating book shows that, for all Californians, every drop counts.

* Includes a table "Where Does Your Water Come From?" that answers the question for 315 California cities and towns

* Provides up-to-date information on water quality in California, covering such timely topics as Giardia, groundwater contamination, fluoride, and the bottled-water phenomenon

CONTENTS:  Introduction:  Water Web-Connected Californians; TAPPING INTO A PLANETARY CYCLE:  A Great Water Wheel;  Vital Molecule; "Normal" Weather-Anything But "Average";  CALIFORNIA WATER LANDSCAPE:  Pristine Waterscape; Groundwater; Hydrologic Regions:  THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM: Expanding Watersheds; State Water Project; Central Valley Project; Colorado River Delivery Systems; Los Angeles Aqueduct; Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct; Mokulumne Aqueduct; The North Bay; Where Does Your Water Come From? (Table III); CHALLENGES TO CALIFORNIA WATER MANAGEMENT: Extinction is Forever;  A Thirsty Garden;  Salton Sea;  Animal Impacts;  Beneath Your Feet; Out of Sight, Out of Control; Can You Drink the Water?;  Giardia;  Mass Medication;  The Bottled Water Phenomenon;  The Problem is Us;  Where Does Your Dog Go?;  Unchecked Growth, Messing with the Cycle; MEETING THE CHALLENGES-CALIFORNIA'S WATER FUTURE:  The Public Trust; Restoration;  CALFED;  The Debate Over Dams--Build More Behemoths?  Offstream Dams?  Raise Existing Dams?  Raze Existing Dams? -- Storage in the Bank; Transfers: Water as a Commodity;  Short-cutting the Cycle;  Squeezing the Sponge;  Clean Water;  Lemonade from Lemons;  What Future Do You Choose? California Water Timeline; Agencies and Organizations;  References,  Index