Sharing the Flow

Excerpt

Last year, in news that made headlines around the world, a drought in Klamath Falls, Oregon, forced federal officials to reduce the flow of water through irrigation floodgates. The reason? There wasn't enough water for both endangered fish and farmers' fields.

The drought meant parched potato and alfalfa fields. Growers fought back against reduced flows by forcing the floodgates open again. The conflict came to a head in August when officials under escort by uniformed federal rangers put a stop to the illegal flow.

This year, the drought persists in eastern Oregon, and in parts of more than a dozen states in the west and central United States. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the worst hit regions range from southern California to western New Mexico and northward into Nevada, Utah and Colorado.

Drought conditions extend to die eastern parts of the country, as well. Last April, water restrictions were already in place in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Maine, and New Hampshire. In an editorial in the New York Times, Peter Gleick, author of “The World's Water” notes that up and down the East Coast, evidence is pointing to …