by: Bryce Lundberg
Chairman
Northern California Water Association
In California we are blessed with a stunning geography and 39 million people who depend on and enjoy this landscape every day. This geography depends upon water to support every part of the state. The attached info-graphic shows how water is used in California during an average year. Importantly, we dedicate water in California to all of these important purposes, with nearly 49 percent for the aquatic environment, 41 percent to produce food and clothing that are an integral part of our everyday life, and about 10 percent for our amazing cities and urban landscapes. Rather than criticize or challenge any one of these uses or argue for one over another, I think we should instead be proud of the way California uses water and we should all celebrate these beneficial uses for water that we all depend upon. California is an unparalleled place in the world because we dedicate water for all these beneficial purposes. In the Sacramento Valley, we manage our precious water resources for a special mosaic of farms, refuges, rivers that support fisheries and cities and rural communities. In a dry year like this, every use suffers; yet, we need to stretch every drop of water for all these important multiple beneficial uses.
