Californians divided on water shortage solutions
April 16, 2014
Nearly nine out of 10 Californians say the state is suffering from a “serious water shortage,” according to a statewide Field Poll of 1,000 registered voters. However, residents are deeply divided on how to solve the dilemma. [MercuryNews]
The deepest divides on how to solve the water shortage are between people in the Bay Area and Central Valley residents. Central Valley residents favor building new dams and waiving environmental rules to pump more water while Bay Area residents want to retain environmental protections and are least supportive of constructing new dams.
Coastal residents have a larger percentage of people who vote Democrat while the Central Valley has a larger number of people who vote Republican. In the Central Valley, water supplies for farming impact jobs more than the Bay Area where the economy is fueled by tourism, software and other economic engines.
According to the poll, 88 percent of people believe California has a serious water shortage.
Of those surveyed, 37 percent said the water shortage is because cities and farms haven’t used existing supplies efficiently enough while 27 percent said it is because California does not have enough reservoirs and storage.
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