California Politics - Water Management/Water Systems - Research Paper Example

Having struggled to manage water for the last 30 years the state need reforms so as o benefits the economy and the environment. This is because the water network consisting of the dams, canals levees, and other treatment plants were not constructed according to any plan or visions which will govern them (Garrigues, 1905). For this reason California has been developing their water system depending on the rising population (Libecap, 2007). The state has been vulnerable in terms of food stability due to lack of complex plans to manage their water system.

The state is experiencing a divided climate with the rainforest of the Pacific falling on the Northwest and the arid desert falling on the Southwest. This complex mixture of climate results to a drought of 6-7 months annually. Rainfall usually ends by May or April and would be seen back in November (Godfrey, 2005). Most of the precipitation occurs during winter which is not so ideal for food production since it is normally accompanied with large storms which are usually destructive. In the olden days water management adopted a laissez faire water management style (Mulholland, 2000).

However, when the Gold Rush set in it was necessary that water allocation laws be enacted. With the Gold Rush it was necessary that the State develop a food reserve program. However, when people shifted from gold to agricultural production California’s supreme had to structure enact laws regarding water management (California Department of Fish and Game, 2008). California Water Foundation has been developing an interactive dimensional model to visually depict the challenges of water management.

Currently the department of water resources is responsible for the management and protection of California’s water. In addition to this the agency works together with other agencies to benefit, protect and restore the natural