A water rights map produced by the San Luis Canal Company.
Agricultural land serviced by the San Luis Canal Company. Central Valley, California.
Agricultural land serviced by the San Luis Canal Company. Central Valley, California.
Agricultural land serviced by the San Luis Canal Company. Central Valley, California.
Agricultural land serviced by the San Luis Canal Company. Central Valley, California.
Agricultural land serviced by the San Luis Canal Company. Central Valley, California.
A farm using flood irrigation, which many believe is an outdated and inefficient means of irrigating crops.
A farm using flood irrigation, which many believe is an outdated and inefficient means of irrigating crops.
A worker for the San Luis Canal Company makes repairs on canal infrastructure.
A worker for the San Luis Canal Company. Central Valley, California.
Workers fixing a leak in a farm's irrigation system. In the drought, two simple, if contradictory, themes have emerged among farmers: One, we’re all in this together. Two, it’s every man for himself.
Farmhouse, Central Valley, California.
A newly planted pistachio orchard. Central Valley, California.
A newly planted pistachio orchard. Central Valley, California.
Storage Barn next to irrigation canal. Central Valley, California.
Irrigation canal. Central Valley, California.
Irrigation canal and sprinkler system. Central Valley, California.
Irrigation canal and sprinkler system. Central Valley, California.
Sprinkler system. Central Valley, California.
Piping for water distribution and sprinkler system. Central Valley, California.
Chase Hurley, general manager of the San Luis Canal Company. Los Banos, California.
Chase Hurley, general manager of the San Luis Canal Company. Los Banos, California.
Chase Hurley, general manager of the San Luis Canal Company. Los Banos, California.
Cannon Michael Bowles, president of Bowles Farming Company, and sixth generation Central Valley farmer.
Two sons of Cannon Michael Bowles, president of Bowles Farming Company, and sixth generation Central Valley farmer.
A farm ready for planting. Central Valley, California.
A canal owned by the San Luis Canal Company. Los Banos, California.
A field of drought-stricken almond trees in the Central Valley fallowed and ready to be chipped. Scarcity of water has always been an issue in the valley, some parts of which get only about 10 inches of rain a year.
Drilling equipment on an almond farm owned by Parvinder Hundal. There are currently no restrictions on well-drilling in the Central Valley. With the expansion of agriculture in the Central Valley and the planting of thirsty, year-round crops like almonds, the demand for water is much greater.
A pistachio farm owned by Parvinder Hundal.
Parvinder Hundal inspects his almond orchard.
Parvinder Hundal, first generation farmer. Central Valley, California.
The state aqueduct runs adjacent to Parvinder Hundal’s orchards. Currently, Mr. Hundal has no rights to the water.
The state aqueduct runs adjacent to Parvinder Hundal’s orchards. Currently, Mr. Hundal has no rights to the water.
The state aqueduct runs adjacent to Parvinder Hundal’s orchards. Currently, Mr. Hundal has no rights to the water.
New York Times - California Farmers Dig Deeper
As California's recent drought intensified, farmers with limited access to surface water begin to dig wells, often at great expense, to help keep crops alive. In the process, many tap into the same water tables which supply neighboring fields, creating a contradiction among farmers: One, we're all in this together. Two, it's every man for himself.
This series of images was originally commissioned by Lindsay Blatt for The New York TImes
Article
California Farmers Dig Deeper for Water, Sipping their Neighbors Dry, The Parched West Series, Matt Richtel, The New York Times, June 5, 2015