Since California Governor Jerry Brown issued an Executive Order mandating water reductions amid the state’s relentless drought, two things have interested me. First, the finger-pointing between water interests began almost immediately. Former Hewlett Packard CEO and Senate Candidate Carly Fiorina called the current situation “The Man-Made Water Shortage in California.” Other articles such as a piece in the LA Times argue that Governor Brown’s Executive Order went too easy on agricultural interests. (In my opinion, however, this argument does not hold water. Governor Brown ordered a 25% mandatory water reduction aimed mostly at municipal users. The order does not specifically order reductions in agricultural water use. In most cases however, the drought conditions are curtailing agricultural water use far beyond 25%. As I wrote in a post in March, the State Water Contractors are only getting 20% of State Water Project deliveries. The State Water Project Draft Reliability Report  assumes a long-term average delivery rate of 58%, so this year’s allocation is significantly lower than average.  For the second year in a row, the Central Valley Project will deliver no water to most agricultural users for a 100% reduction in supplies.) Continue reading →