Farmer fears and #droughtshaming: How California’s water war is escalating

For decades, two types of Californians have had virtually guaranteed access to water: Farmers and celebrities. But now, in the fourth year of the state’s catastrophic drought, even they’re getting anxious.

Starting Friday, some farmers whose water rights date back as far as the 19th century will be ordered by the state to stop pumping from the San Joaquin River watershed. Other farmers are trying to mitigate the unprecedented government cuts with a proposed deal to slash their water use.

Meanwhile, a social-media movement is fuelling outrage over the lush lawns of wealthy Californians to point out the disparity in how the rich and poor consume water.

A farm with a lawn and a swimming pool is seen in the Central Valley near Fresno, Calif. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

(In photos: Californians get creative under water restrictions)

Drought shaming

Under the hashtag #droughtshaming – which first emerged last year and has taken off again in recent days – social-media users have been targeting perceived water-wasting by A-listers such as Sean Penn, Kim Kardashian and Barbra Streisand. The New York Post fanned the flames two weeks ago with a report publishing aerial photos of celebrity mansions with green lawns. One California real-estate broker even developed an app to upload geotagged photos of alleged scofflaws.

In a state where restaurants can’t even serve customers water unless they ask for it and water wasters can face fines of up to $500, perceived excesses in water use can be a contentious issue. In March, a poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found 66 per cent of Californians surveyed said people in their area weren’t doing enough to combat the drought.

(More: Barrie McKenna on how drought is reshaping Beverly Hills)

Farmers feel the pinch

Farmer Gino Celli climbs out of a irrigation canal that is covered in dried salt on a field he farms near Stockton, Calif. Mr. Celli, who farms 5,000 acres of tomatoes, alfalfa and corn in the delta, has senior water-holder rights, but is willing to take a small reduction as the strate struggles with drought. “For me, 25 per cent I can handle,” he says. “Anything more than that, man, I’m done.” (Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press)

On Friday, conservation orders are set to be issued for senior water-rights holders along the San Joaquin River, one of the main water sources for California’s farms and communities. It would be the first such measure for senior rights holders in California since 1977, and the first-ever for rights holders along the San Joaquin, whose water supply has been taxed severely by a record scarcity of snow on the Sierra Nevada mountains that feed it.

A second group of senior rights holders – farmers whose land lies along the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta’s waterways – are trying to offer the state a deal: In exchange for taking 25 per cent less river water for irrigation or leaving a quarter of their fields unplanted, they want guarantees that the state won’t restrict the remaining 75 per cent of their water rights, even if the drought deepens and other users go dry. A senior state official told Associated Press on Wednesday that he would decide whether to accept the offer by Friday.

Irrigation pipes sit along a dried irrigation canal on a field farmed by Gino Celli near Stockton, Calif., on May 18. (Rick Pedroncelli/Associated Press)

Farmers, who use 80 per cent of water taken from California’s land, were spared the brunt of the water restrictions introduced by Governor Jerry Brown last month. Senior water rights holders alone consume trillions of gallons of water a year, although the state doesn’t know exactly how much they use because of unreliable data collection.

(Omar El Akkad: Wiping out almond industry won’t fix the water crisis)

With a report from Associated Press

More reading

In April, photojournalist John Lehmann and reporter Andrea Woo travelled to a California town hard-hit by the drought, where residents have had to make drastic changes to adapt. Read their story here.

Howard, left, and his wife Donna Johnson help out East Porterville resident Beto Orozco on April 7 as they fill drums with water from the local fire station. The untreated water must be neutralized with bleach to kill off bacteria and mosquito larvae. (John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail)