Drought, Water Law, and the Origins of California’s Central Valley Project

"This book is an account of how water rights were designed as a key part of the state's largest public water system, the Central Valley Project. Along sixty miles of the San Joaquin River, from Gustine to Mendota, four corporate entities called "exchange contractors" retain paramount water rights to the river. Their rights descend from the days of the Miller & Lux Cattle Company, which amassed an empire of land and water from the 1850s through the 1920s and protected these assets through business deals and prolific litigation. Miller & Lux's dominance of the river relied on what many in the San Joaquin Valley regarded as wasteful irrigation practices and unreasonable water usage. Economic and political power in California's present water system was born of this monopoly on water control. Stroshane tells how drought and legal conflict shaped statewide economic development and how the grand bargain of a San Joaquin River water exchange was struck from this monopoly legacy, setting the stage for future water wars. His analysis will appeal to readers interested in environmental studies and public policy"-- "Economic and political power in California's water system was born of monopolist Miller & Lux's water rights: they are ghostly and forgettable in the wet years, vexing and implacable in the dry. Drought, Water Law, and the Origins of California's Central Valley Project tells how drought and legal conflict shaped statewide economic development, and how a grand bargain from the monopolized bloc of water rights was struck, setting the stage for future water wars"-- Présentation de l'éditeur : "This book is an account of how water rights were designed as a key part of the state's largest public water system, the Central Valley Project. Along sixty miles of the San Joaquin River, from Gustine to Mendota, four corporate entities called "exchange contractors" retain paramount water rights to the river. Their rights descend from the days of the Miller & Lux Cattle Company, which amassed an empire of land and water from the 1850s through the 1920s and protected these assets through business deals and prolific litigation. Miller & Lux's dominance of the river relied on what many in the San Joaquin Valley regarded as wasteful irrigation practices and unreasonable water usage. Economic and political power in California's present water system was born of this monopoly on water control. Stroshane tells how drought and legal conflict shaped statewide economic development and how the grand bargain of a San Joaquin River water exchange was struck from this monopoly legacy, setting the stage for future water wars. His analysis will appeal to readers interested in environmental studies and public policy." "This book is an account of how water rights were designed as a key part of the state's largest public water system, the Central Valley Project. Along sixty miles of the San Joaquin River, from Gustine to Mendota, four corporate entities called "exchange contractors" retain paramount water rights to the river. Their rights descend from the days of the Miller & Lux Cattle Company, which amassed an empire of land and water from the 1850s through the 1920s and protected these assets through business deals and prolific litigation. Miller & Lux's dominance of the river relied on what many in the San Joaquin Valley regarded as wasteful irrigation practices and unreasonable water usage. Economic and political power in California's present water system was born of this monopoly on water control. Stroshane tells how drought and legal conflict shaped statewide economic development and how the grand bargain of a San Joaquin River water exchange was struck from this monopoly legacy, setting the stage for future water wars. His analysis will appeal to readers interested in environmental studies and public policy"--Provided by publisher "This book is an account of how water rights were designed as a key part of the state's largest public water system, the Central Valley Project. Along sixty miles of the San Joaquin River, from Gustine to Mendota, four corporate entities called "exchange contractors" retain paramount water rights to the river. Their rights descend from the days of the Miller et Lux Cattle Company, which amassed an empire of land and water from the 1850s through the 1920s and protected these assets through business deals and prolific litigation. Miller et Lux's dominance of the river relied on what many in the San Joaquin Valley regarded as wasteful irrigation practices and unreasonable water usage. Economic and political power in California's present water system was born of this monopoly on water control. Stroshane tells how drought and legal conflict shaped statewide economic development and how the grand bargain of a San Joaquin River water exchange was struck from this monopoly legacy, setting the stage for future water wars. His analysis will appeal to readers interested in environmental studies and public policy" .. Cover Page Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1. Artificial Cascades Chapter 2. Mere Trespassers and Monopolists Chapter 3. Showdown at the Calloway Canal Chapter 4. The Dead Hand of Henry Miller Chapter 5. A Large Permanent Usefulness Chapter 6. District, Rule, Decree Chapter 7. A Lawsuit Is a Poor Match for a Dam Chapter 8. Junior and Senior Partners Chapter 9. Glass Half Full Chapter 10. Parable, Prophecy, Present Appendix A. Summaries of Key Miller and Lux-related San Joaquin River California Supreme Court Cases Appendix B. Text of Proposition 7 from 1928 California Constitution Appendix C. Authorities References Index "Economic and political power in California's water system was born of monopolist Miller et Lux's water rights: they are ghostly and forgettable in the wet years, vexing and implacable in the dry. Drought, Water Law, and the Origins of California's Central Valley Project tells how drought and legal conflict shaped statewide economic development, and how a grand bargain from the monopolized bloc of water rights was struck, setting the stage for future water wars" ..