California: Enough Water for the Future?

California is now in the fifth year of the worst drought in its history, and urban and environmental interests are calling for an end to farmers' guarantee of current supplies of cheap irrigation water from federal and state water projects. Unless there is some change in water policy, they say, California will be unable to sustain its phenomenal growth and its huge agricultural sector. Most experts agree that there are, indeed, serious problems with Western water policy, because low prices and arcane laws do nothing to encourage conservation in the arid climate. But there are practical, political, legal and economic obstacles to overcome.