On Fish and Farms: The Future of Water in California's Central Valley after San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority v. Jewell

Abstract

In the latest chapter of California’s water wars between endangered species protection and agricultural interests, the Ninth Circuit held in San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority v. Jewell that the continued operation of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project was leading to jeopardy of the threatened delta smelt and its critical habitat in the San Joaquin BaySacramento Delta. The court’s decision will lead to substantial cuts in water delivery to the Central Valley of California, which is the most agriculturally productive area of the United States, to protect the delta smelt and force irrigation districts to adopt water conservation measures. This Note argues that procrastination acts as a significant behavioral barrier to effective environmental decision making. To prove this, this Note compares how irrigation districts in the Central Valley responded to three different conservation components of the groundbreaking California Water Conservation Act of 2009: the adoption of volumetric water pricing, investment in efficient irrigation technology, and mitigation measures against anthropogenic climate change. The results of the analysis provide strong evidence that those irrigation districts that have senior water rights are more likely to have inefficient irrigation systems and slower adoption of volumetric pricing than their junior counterparts. However, both junior and senior irrigation districts show procrastination in planning for the detrimental effects of climate change. California must address the conservation of endangered species and the continued economic viability of the Central Valley against the backdrop of an uncertain future of water availability. Given the demonstrated tendency