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US food supply at risk as historic drought sees water to California farms cut
- Fearful that there may not be enough water for city dwellers or wildlife, authorities in the state have abruptly cut supplies to farms
- Growers complain a mountain of pointless restrictions have left them unable to fill their usual role of supplying America’s supermarkets
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Agence France-Pressein Reedley, United States
In the valleys of central California, the search for water has turned into an all-out obsession as the region suffers through a drought that could threaten the United States’ food supply.
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Residents have watched with dismay as verdant fields have turned into brown, dusty plains, leaving shrivelled trees, dying plants and exasperated farmers.
Much of California, and the broader US West, has suffered through years of lighter-than-usual rain and a particularly dry winter.
State and local authorities, fearful that there may not be enough water for city dwellers or wildlife, have abruptly cut supplies to farms, provoking anger and consternation.
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Along the roads between major farming operations, billboards have popped up everywhere, urging: “Save California’s Water”. They accuse the authorities of “dumping … our water in the ocean.”
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