Harsh Realities of Water Shortage

The Times’ editorial detailing the harsh realities of Southern California’s water supply (“Turn the Faucet Off--It’s Prudent-User Time,” Dec. 13) presents a calm, yet firm, reminder that we better take this current drought seriously. The drought should not bear the exclusive blame for the need to cut back on water use, however. There are other, equally troubling reasons.

The substantial shortfall that we anticipate from the Colorado River in the future is a result of a 26-year-old U.S. Supreme Court decision redistributing the river’s bounty. Consequences of that decision, long predicted, now present the Metropolitan Water District with the challenge of keeping the Colorado River Aqueduct filled.

Significant progress is being made through negotiations with other Colorado River users to overcome this difficulty. A major conservation agreement with the Imperial Irrigation District yielding 106,000 acre-feet of water annually is hopefully the first in a series of successful efforts to restore the Colorado River Aqueduct to its historic prominence as a dependable water artery for this region. That is half the story.

Even a sudden and dramatic turn in the weather offers no relief for us without effective improvement in the infrastructure of the State Water Project that delivers water to 19 million Californians and the state’s abundant agricultural economy. Steadily increasing demands for water have outstripped the project’s ability to provide supplies.

Additional facilities to capture and convey supplies from the key watershed areas of the state to areas of need are necessary. Absent these, the 1990s may well be remembered as the decade when California entered its era of substantial shortages.

CARL BORONKAY, General Manager, Metropolitan Water District