California’s Water Crisis Isn’t a Drought—It’s Bad Policy

Decades of subsidies, mispricing, and politically protected water allocations have left households paying the highest costs while agriculture wastes the most.

Pyramid Lake is a reservoir along Interstate 5 in Southern California. Michael Lingberg/Shutterstock

Commentary

In late December, winter storms brought rain and snow that modestly improved California’s reservoirs and snowpack. Officials quickly cautioned, however, that this would not solve the water crisis. The message was clear: despite years of restrictions and emergency measures, policymakers still have no path to long-term water security.