In exchange for blocking flows, the government gave the Miller and Lux group, which was renamed the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors, a guaranteed supply from the delta and, if that wasn’t available, first dibs on the water held back by the dam.
Jonas Minton, a water policy adviser for the Planning and Conservation League, said this system is flawed in that there is no incentive for farmers with senior rights to ration water or improve efficiency.
“There has always been talk about changing the water rights system, but I haven’t seen anyone offer up an alternative that’s likely to work better,” said Jay Lund, director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis. “It would be worse if nobody had secure water rights, because then nobody would be willing to sell. Like any system, it has its imperfections and its unfairness, but just like in real estate, if you got there early you got it cheap, and just like when you own a house, you are glad that that property line is defined.”