A large portion of our fresh water needs to be allowed to flow into the ocean in order to sustain healthy riparian and littoral ecosystems. City governments and residents use relatively little water directly; almost all of it goes to agriculture and industry. Farmers are being blamed because they continue to waste water by failing to adopt more efficient practices such as drip irrigation, and by growing crops that aren't suited to the local climate. Growing alfalfa (and other fodder crops) for export does nothing to provide Californians with affordable food; in fact it does the opposite.

We need to move towards a free market solution where all water users pay market rates instead of subsidizing politically favored sectors. If that means that prices rise for certain water-intensive crops then so be it. That's preferable to a water shortage.