CEO & Hydrologist; The SHIBATANI GROUP Inc.; Expert Flood Witness, Water Utility Counselor; Flood/Disaster Litigation; Reservoir Operations; Groundwater; Climate Change
“How accurate are media water reports?” There will be stories, like the one in a recent Business Insider issue that carry headlines such as the following, “20 California Farms Use More Water Than Some States”. California has almost 70 times the population of Wyoming and 7 times the population of Wisconsin, so what’s the underlying message of the article? What this, and other media articles often ignore is the fact that, if any State has surplus water, even temporarily, then arguably, there is no supply issue as implied by the article if that surplus meets the demand shortfall (we monitor daily CVP/SWP operations and know exactly when our reservoirs spill and under what conditions). For California, as demonstrated in previous years, including this most recent 2022-2023 water year, a volumetric surplus exists in virtually EVERY water year. The fact that California has a significant annual flood control and stormwater commitment at the local, County, State and federal levels means that the State and the U.S. government both recognize this annual water surplus. The long-standing water carryover challenge for California and elsewhere across the U.S. western States has always been a lack of operable storage, either above- or below-ground. The U.S. public must remain attuned to the real data and inspect the results themselves; this will avoid blindly relying on media reporting.
