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The 20 Farming Families Who Use More Water From the Colorado River Than Some Western States
(projects.propublica.org)
this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2023
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Outstanding journalism. Say the numbers and say their names. Do not let the water barons hide.
The generational accumulation of massive wealth and its centralization among only a few families is a hallmark of inequality, and it's no different for a farming empire than for a tech or finance empire.
When there is no more water, drink Alex Abatti's blood instead.
Agreed. Amazing research. Fuuuuck these people.
The eastern US uses riparian water rights; everyone has the right to use a reasonable amount of water. If there's not enough water, water usage is limited essentially equally across all the rights-holders.
The western US mostly uses the prior appropriation doctrine - "first in time, first in right". Basically, as the west was being settled, you could use as much river water for a mine or settlement as you wanted, so long as you didn't impact the people who were already there. In the case of a shortage, people with the most recent water rights have to reduce their usage so they don't impact the senior water rights.
Western water rights maybe made sense originally as the first mines were being built, but they have inequality baked into them from the start. They don't seem like a great system for the conservation challenges of today.