We can't engineer our way out of aridity

And what do you do about aridity if you are a nation accustomed to plenty and impatient of restrictions and led westward by pillars of fire and cloud? You may deny it for awhile. Then you must either try to engineer it out of existence or adapt to it.

-- Wallace Stegner

That dreaded word, drought, has again intruded into the California public consciousness following Gov. Schwarzenegger's June 4 declaration that one is officially under way.

Because the governor's executive order failed to declare a state of emergency or impose rationing, it appears his real motive was to drum up support for the $12 billion water bond measure he wants for the November ballot.

That plan includes a peripheral canal to funnel Sacramento River water around the delta and $3.5 billion for two controversial dams. He wants to engineer our way out of the dry spell instead of adapting to the fact that most Californians live in a desert.

The governor's declaration states 2007 was a below-normal rainfall year and this spring was the driest on record, with water supplies at 59 percent of normal. During the 1986-1992 drought, six dry years passed before Gov. Wilson issued a similar declaration in 1991.

The technical definition of drought is a deficiency of "normal" precipitation over an extended period, usually more than one season, resulting in a shortage of water. Drought is temporary; aridity is permanent.

Aridity typifies the Southern California climate and has resulted in the annual transfer of enormous volumes of water from the usually wet north state to the almost always-dry south. With 1,400 dams and thousands of miles of canals, California always has engineered solutions.

Though the governor urges conservation, tying it to his Pharaonic construction plan will further polarize Northern and Southern California over what critics call his hydro-illogical boondoggles. At any rate, those massive public works projects, even if approved, are probably 15 to 20 years away.

It might be wiser for the deficit-plagued governor to focus on policy before plumbing and sort out a raft of statewide water problems, that have festered for decades and don't require billions to fix.

I suggest the following actions:

Demand the State Water Resources Control Board explain why water rights permits and contract allocations exceed available supplies by several times. This phantom supply, or "paper water," is being used to justify more urban sprawl. The project promises contractors 4.2 million acre-feet annually (an acre-foot, which would cover one acre to a depth of one foot, equals 325,850 gallons) but can safely deliver only 1.2 million acre-feet.

Ask the state water board to declare irrigation of hundreds of thousands of acres of high-selenium soils in the western San Joaquin Valley an unreasonable use of water. Retirement of alkali soils, which generate a pollutant-laden drainage that cannot be safely disposed, could free up more than a million acre-feet.

Discourage planting of low-value, water-thirsty crops like cotton.

Demand a halt to urban waste. Some cities have excellent conservation records; others are dragging their feet. Sacramento, Fresno and Modesto still sell water at a flat rate, meaning residents pay the same whether they use 1 gallon or 1 million gallons.

Be honest: Tell the public that drought conditions do not exist everywhere. Thousands of Central Valley farmers will be getting a full supply of federal water. Only the Westlands Water District, with 500 to 600 growers on a thousand square miles, and several districts in western Stanislaus, Merced and Madera counties will get reduced supplies. And they are free to purchase water on the open market. The governor's declaration will make such water transfers easier.