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Opinion

Dead Orchards, Lost Farms: California’s Water Gridlock Deepens

Dead Orchards, Lost Farms: California’s Water Gridlock Deepens
A section of the California Aqueduct system sits visible outside of Bakersfield, Calif., on Feb. 11, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
Mollie Engelhart
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Commentary

In 2014, California voters approved Proposition 1, setting aside $2.7 billion for water storage projects. They voted for dams. They voted for reservoirs. They voted to secure the future of their food supply. And yet a decade later, no shovel has broken ground.

Instead, projects remain trapped in endless reviews, lawsuits, and regulations that seem designed to prevent progress rather than serve the people.

Mollie Engelhart
Mollie Engelhart
Author
Mollie Engelhart, regenerative farmer and rancher at Sovereignty Ranch, is committed to food sovereignty, soil regeneration, and educating on homesteading and self-sufficiency. She is the author of “Debunked by Nature”: Debunk Everything You Thought You Knew About Food, Farming, and Freedom — a raw, riveting account of her journey from vegan chef and LA restaurateur to hands-in-the-dirt farmer, and how nature shattered her cultural programming.