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2 <br />71 <br />Electrical line over the Los Angeles Aqueduct in the Owens Valley. <br />California Water Today <br />We are confronted by insurmountable opportunities. <br />Walt Kelly, Pogo <br />California’s water system is large, complex, and interconnected. Most precipita- <br />tion falls in the sparsely populated northern and mountainous regions of the <br />state during the winter, whereas most human water demands occur during <br />the late spring, summer, and early fall in the population and farming centers <br />farther south and along the coast. Precipitation also varies greatly across years, <br />making the state susceptible to large floods and prolonged droughts. These <br />conditions have led to the development of vast infrastructure systems that store <br />and convey water to demand centers and that protect residents from flooding. <br />The successive eras of water management over California’s history, in turn, have <br />spawned a wide array of management institutions involving local, regional, <br />state, and federal entities. <br />This chapter reviews major aspects of California’s current water system. We <br />start with some basics on water availability: precipitation patterns, movement <br />and storage of water in surface reservoirs and groundwater basins, and water <br />quality characteristics. We then examine water uses, including an assessment of <br />the volumes and values of flows for economic and environmental activities. We <br />also review flood vulnerability and flood management infrastructure. Finally, <br />we look at water management institutions responsible for supply, quality, and <br />flood operations; funding arrangements; and scientific and technical activities <br />that make the system work. At each stage, we highlight strengths and vulner- <br />abilities of the current system and point to changes needed as California enters <br />a new era of water management. <br />RichARd A. cOOkE/cORbis