New Water Wars Are Coming to the American West
The region's most severe drought yet signals a grim future of expanding battles over who gets the rights to the last drops.
Droughts will get more frequent, more severe, and happen in more places.
Photographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Water has been generating conflicts and controversies in the U.S. for centuries, but the American West could be heading toward the most severe water shortages and skirmishes in the nation’s history.
The latest clash broke out this month along California's border with Oregon in the Klamath River basin, where drought is decimating wild salmon populations. To minimize the kill, federal officials cut off water to nearby fields growing potatoes and alfalfa, leading to grave concern from farmers and protests from anti-government activists.