Drought, water law, and the origins of California's Central Valley project / Tim Stroshane.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stroshane, Tim, 1957- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Central Valley Project (Calif.).

Water resources development--California--History.

Water resources development.

Water rights--California--History.

Water rights.

Water-supply--Political aspects--California--History.

Water-supply.

Water-supply--Political aspects.

History.

California.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xi, 234 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Reno : University of Nevada Press, [2016]

Summary:

"This book is an account of how water rights were designed as a key part of the state's largest public water system, the Central Valley Project. Along sixty miles of the San Joaquin River, from Gustine to Mendota, four corporate entities called "exchange contractors" retain paramount water rights to the river. Their rights descend from the days of the Miller & Lux Cattle Company, which amassed an empire of land and water from the 1850s through the 1920s and protected these assets through business deals and prolific litigation. Miller & Lux's dominance of the river relied on what many in the San Joaquin Valley regarded as wasteful irrigation practices and unreasonable water usage. Economic and political power in California's present water system was born of this monopoly on water control. Stroshane tells how drought and legal conflict shaped statewide economic development and how the grand bargain of a San Joaquin River water exchange was struck from this monopoly legacy, setting the stage for future water wars. His analysis will appeal to readers interested in environmental studies and public policy"-- Provided by publisher.

"Economic and political power in California's water system was born of monopolist Miller & Lux's water rights: they are ghostly and forgettable in the wet years, vexing and implacable in the dry. Drought, Water Law, and the Origins of California's Central Valley Project tells how drought and legal conflict shaped statewide economic development, and how a grand bargain from the monopolized bloc of water rights was struck, setting the stage for future water wars"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Artificial Cascades 11

Chapter 2 Mere Trespassers and Monopolists 26

Chapter 3 Showdown at the Calloway Canal 47

Chapter 4 The Dead Hand of Henry Miller 66

Chapter 5 A Large Permanent Usefulness 76

Chapter 6 District, Rule, Decree 101

Chapter 7 A Lawsuit Is a Poor Match for a Dam 120

Chapter 8 Junior and Senior Partners 143

Chapter 9 Glass Half Full 168

Chapter 10 Parable, Prophecy, Present 183.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Stroshane, Tim, 1957- author. Drought, water law, and the origins of California's Central Valley project.

ISBN:

9781943859214

1943859213

OCLC:

951158309