Water pressure mounting in West as population goes up

As we deal with our population growth, we must address sufficient supplies of drinkable fresh water for residential, commercial, agriculture, fisheries and industrial needs.

Not only will our numbers continue to climb, but so will competing pressures for fresh water. While demographers can project population growth fairly accurately and planners are good at assessing future needs, nature controls the supply of rainfall and mountain snowpack; and, when it occurs. Too often precipitation is “feast or famine.”

For example, precipitation in the California’s agricultural region historically fluctua...