This year California is facing a drought, drinking water shortages, toxic algal blooms and the collapse of our salmon runs. This means cities water supplies are threatened, along with Native People's food and cultures, water quality and coastal fishing economies. Climate change has made California droughts common. 

California's salmon are facing extinction and cities cities drinking water systems are under threat. Despite these facts in 2021California's rice farmers alone used four times as much water as the city of Los Angeles due to the fact that they have senior water rights. Water is a human right yet famers and large landowners have been flood irrigating while towns, Tribals and salmon struggle for water. 

It is time to reform our water rights system, which puts water rights that are from pre-1914 over all other uses, including cities and rivers. This system was created to support Gold Rush farmers that were actively engaging in genocide of Native people lands at a time when woman and people of  color could not own land. These unjust rights are why Agriculture uses 80% of the state’s water while only bringing in about 3% of our GDP, and are allowed to flood irrigate during droughts. Many of their crops, like almonds and alfalfa, are export crops. 

Almost a million Californians lack access to clean water, many of whom watch as almond orchards get clean water, while they do not. 

The government will continue to prioritize corporate water brokers and export-based agriculture over Californians cities, Native people and rivers until we reform our racist and classist water rights system. 

PLEASE JOIN US IN TAKING ACTION FOR CALIFORNIA WATER JUSTICE