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Drought turns resource into a cash crop in Calif.

Written by PETER SANDERS, Wall Street Journal
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Three years of drought in California have turned water into a potential cash crop, with the state activating its Drought Water Bank program last fall for the first time since 1994. The program allows farmers to sell some of the water they would usually use to grow their crops to cities, counties and agriculture districts that are thirsty for it. The water shortage has been costing California dearly, with the drought and resulting water restrictions potentially tallying as much as $1.4 billion in lost income and about 53,000 lost jobs, according to University of California, Davis professor Richard Howitt. With the hot summer months approaching, water agencies are expected to request at least twice the amount of water as the water bank will have to sell. Cities have tried to spur conservation by raising the price of water for consumers. The Los Angeles water utility last week agreed to raise rates on consumers who fail to reduce their water usage by 15 percent. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa suggested earlier this year that residents of that city begin using water sprinklers only twice a week. Set as favorite Bookmark Email This Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment You must be logged in to a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.
Last Updated ( Saturday, 28 March 2009 )