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Foothills were place of origin for California’s water battle

Posted by: Maven on January 16, 2010 at 8:40 am

From the Amador Ledger-Dispatch, part 1 in a four-part series on the roots of California’s water battles:

“For roots of today’s biggest statewide issue – the diversion of flowing water – look locally.

California water was once a public resource. It was through the ungoverned California Gold Rush that water became divertable for private interests.

Eventually, a complex of government actions would guarantee water diversions for private interests. The latest such action is the “water package” of state legislation brokered recently by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Gold

Within California, the phenomenon of widespread water diversions first emerged in the Sierra Nevada foothills – with the 1848 discovery of gold, according to historian Norris Hundley and others. Unlike in earlier gold-mining hotspots – Georgia, Alabama – in the territory that would become the Golden State, water to separate ore from soils was scarce. … “

Read more from the Amador Ledger-Dispatch by clicking here.

January 16, 2010 · Filed Under Water Rights

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