A Man-Made Drought Is Causing California’s Water Crisis

Farm Journal reporter Tyne Morgan opened her recent video with a stark number: nearly 40% of California currently registers as in drought on the U.S. Drought Monitor. But the growers she interviewed insist the bigger threat isn’t only what the clouds withhold – it’s what laws and policies divert. Morgan frames it plainly: farmers and consumers are now paying for a “man-made drought,” a squeeze created by regulatory choices layered on top of naturally dry weather. In a state that grows a hefty share of America’s fruits, nuts, and vegetables, the stakes are both local and national.

From Flood To Thirst In A Single Season

In California’s Central Valley, fifth-generation farmer Erik Hansen told Morgan that 2023 delivered the kind of whiplash only this state can manage: flood and drought in quick succession. Hansen Ranches grows 15–16 crops, from pistachios and almonds to cotton (their largest acreage). When the reborn Tulare Lake spread in 2023, 5,000 to 6,000 acres of his land sat underwater, and some of that water lingered more than a year. The irony, as Hansen explained to Morgan, is crushing: too much water one season, then too little access to water the next – not because it doesn’t exist, but because much of it can’t be used.

SGMA: A Necessary Reform With Painful Edges

California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), passed in 2014, requires local plans to bring aquifers into balance by 2040. Speaking with Morgan, Hansen didn’t dismiss the goal; overdraft is real, and he said managing it “on paper…is good.” But he argued the policy’s hard edges hit farmers because surface-water infrastructure built in the 1950s–60s isn’t being fully utilized. The result, in his view: vast volumes of storm water that could recharge aquifers or irrigate crops are allowed to race to the Pacific – a missed opportunity when SGMA is simultaneously curbing pumping.

Farmland On The Bubble

Hansen told Morgan projections show 1.1 to 1.2 million acres in the Valley could be forced out of production as SGMA ratchets down groundwater use. That’s not just brown fields; it’s lost wages, shuttered suppliers, and tighter food supply. My read: this is what “managed scarcity” looks like when infrastructure, rules, and climate volatility collide. If we constrain groundwater without aggressively capturing surplus wet-year flows for recharge, we don’t just conserve – we contract.

A Young Grower Doing The Math

About 40 miles from Hansen, Elizabeth Keenan walked Morgan through the arithmetic at Keenan Farms, home to one of California’s oldest pistachio orchards. Keenan, in her early 30s, described a business juggling high-value crops with low allocations and high water prices. She said their district’s base allocation is 2.2 acre-feet, but at a 50% allocation, they’re allowed only 1.1 acre-feet – not enough for both the processing plant and orchards. To make it work, land must be left fallow to earn pumping allowances, and the rest comes from the open market, where water is costly. Her bottom line to Morgan: California has “optimal land and weather,” but legislation too often tilts the odds against small businesses.

Why So Much Water Heads To The Ocean

Morgan also pressed on a claim plastered on roadside signs across the Valley: that nearly 80% of river flows head to the ocean instead of farms. Assemblyman David Tangipa, who represents part of the Central Valley, told her the number is real in spirit and scale – he cited about 83% allocated to environmental purposes by statute and rule. Here’s where nuance matters. Environmental flows sustain endangered species, wetlands, estuarine health, and salinity barriers – critical public goods. But policy isn’t static: when rules set rigid percentages, we lose the ability to adapt during deluge years to bank water without abandoning environmental goals.

The Arithmetic Of Scarcity

Tangipa told Morgan California averages ~200 million acre-feet of precipitation a year – a figure tracked since the 19th century – yet, he argued, more than 80% is prioritized for wetlands and expedited to the ocean. My view: the average is far less useful than the distribution – feast-or-famine swings are wider than ever. That demands flexible rules that surge water into recharge and storage infrastructure during wet windows while still meeting ecological targets. Right now, we’re treating most years like average years and most storms like hassles to flush, not gifts to bank.

Storage Promises, Shovels Missing

On the ground, the infrastructure gap is palpable. Thomas Putzel, who works with growers across the Valley, told Morgan voters approved a major water bond a decade ago to add storage – yet “not one shovel has gone in the ground.” He said some of that money even went to tearing down dams, and he noted the state hasn’t built a major new dam since the 1960s, even as the population ballooned. Whether your answer is dams, off-stream reservoirs, aquifer recharge basins, or all of the above, the common denominator is speed. When it rains, capture; when it’s dry, meter; and year-round, measure.

Aligning Groundwater, Surface Water, And Reality

Hansen’s conversation with Morgan points to a middle path: pair SGMA (which reins in overdraft) with a Manhattan-Project-level push to grab excess flows in wet years and shove them underground. That means finishing long-debated storage projects, fast-tracking recharge-friendly conveyance, and rewarding on-farm recharge where soils allow. None of this negates environmental stewardship; it modernizes it – shifting from fixed ratios to outcome-based, hydrology-aware triggers that protect ecosystems and bank resilience for people.

The Consumer’s Tab Is Already Due

Morgan emphasized that the “man-made drought” is not just a grower’s headache. When pistachio processors like Keenan pay top dollar for scarce water, or when permanent crops are yanked to meet pumping limits, consumers eventually meet the bill. Almonds, leafy greens, tomatoes, citrus, cotton – the supply chain is tight enough that modest acreage losses can nudge prices. If you eat, you’re in this story. The most affordable food system is the one with reliable water where it’s actually grown.

Policy Versus People

Asked by Morgan whether California values farming, Hansen didn’t mince words: government has become the biggest obstacle, and the state “hasn’t really decided” if agriculture is in its best interest. He hears politicians praise “the little guy,” then pass rules that only large players can shoulder. I don’t think it has to be either/or. You can hold a strong environmental line and design practical, timely water operations that keep small and mid-size farms alive. But that requires less litigation, more engineering, and a willingness to change rules in wet years instead of letting another precious surge rocket to sea.

How To End A Man-Made Drought

Morgan’s reporting, and the voices she included – Erik Hansen, Elizabeth Keenan, Assemblyman David Tangipa, and Thomas Putzel – outline a path forward whether they meant to or not. Finish storage and conveyance projects voters already funded. Supercharge recharge in every wet year with pre-permitted, shovel-ready sites. Align SGMA timelines with aggressive surface-water banking so groundwater basins rebound instead of simply shutting fields. Modernize environmental flow rules to use hydrologic triggers and targeted habitat outcomes, not one-size percentages. And price and publish water movements in real time so everyone can see what’s available, where it goes, and why.

Do that, and the drought we can’t control hurts less – because we’re no longer manufacturing one on top of it.