Zócalo's Connecting California
Drowning in a flood of water data
There's a new kind of water war taking place in California, and it comes from your computer, not from your tap.
Which communities are saving the most water, and how should that impact state policy? Just how much water is being saved from turf-removal efforts? And where does one water agency's boundary begin another agency's end? These questions reflect a new chapter in the state's historic battles over water – one distinguished by reams of data and nearly as many interpretations about what that data means. The goal of all this new information is an admirable one, water efficiency. And it may be all for the best. In the meantime, however, Zócalo Public Square columnist Joe Mathews saysthe state's flood of new water data has the potential to unleash a lot of conflict.
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