Exploring California’s continuing water issues, the Tree Huggers project will help to explain the intricate dynamics of drought, environmental injustice, and water quality. As author Mark Twain allegedly once said, “Water is for fighting over; whiskey is for drinking.” (Whiskey Is for Drinking; Water Is for Fighting Over – Quote Investigator®, 2013) This sentiment resonates throughout the valleys of California as water scarcity increases due to climate change. Historical data illustrates the state’s battle with drought, which impacts everything from water quality to supply. 

Our project explores the problems with drought and water quality in California, focusing on differences in county-to-county access to water. To investigate the impacts of this persistent water discrepancy, we will compile data from reliable sources related to climate change, agriculture, and urban planning. Our goal is to explore the reasons behind environmental injustice and offer solutions for sustainable water management. Examining drought in California reveals a critical situation as of 2022, with the National Centers for Environmental Information reporting significant drought conditions affecting most of the state. As of January 2021, 95% of California was experiencing moderate to exceptional drought, impacting over 30 million people and demonstrating the urgency in addressing water scarcity and advocating for sustainable water management practices. The National Integrated Drought Information System indicates that 2020 and 2021 were particularly dry, with 2021 ranking among the region’s driest years ever. There is continuous difficulty managing water resources in the face of climate variability. Rainfall in California in 2023 provided some respite from the state’s drought in 2020 through 2022 following the trend toward more exceptional weather patterns; however, the fundamental problems of water distribution and quality remained unresolved because the heavy precipitation did not adequately address the difficulties in guaranteeing fair water access and upholding water quality standards. (Schmidt, 2023) This scenario emphasizes how challenging it is to create and implement sustainable water management strategies, even when drought circumstances appear to be improving momentarily. 

Our project aims to dissect and explore the intersection between water issues, socioeconomic status, and justice in California. We suggest that water and climate events are not merely concerned with nature, but link both nature and humanity. This ideology is shared by scholars David and Hughes, who claim water resources are “hydrosocial” (David & Hughes, 2023). When considering connections between economics and water inequality, our research accentuates the disproportionate impacts on poorer communities and the uneven aid distribution. Several sources highlight and cement this idea, specifically dissecting policies and systems enacted in California. 

Certain communities in California, especially Central Valley areas, have extreme issues with water access– stemming from groundwater overdraft and agricultural runoff contamination (David & Hughes, 2023). Moreover, Pannu supports this claim further citing inadequate support given to rural communities who receive far less support regarding water (Pannu, 2012). Moreover, this poor water quality forces residents to rely on alternate water supply, like bottled water, thus further exacerbating money expenditure and poorness (David & Hughes, 2023). Ultimately, the unequal access to water in these regions is a catalyst for worsening economic conditions, as regressive water costs lead to increased allocation of funds (Pannu, 2012). Conversely, wealthier households must assign insignificant portions of their income to water, without threats of contamination or scarcity (David & Hughes, 2023). 

Considering the current harmful state of water access in California, David and Hughes discuss the potential implications tethered to environmental change responses– suggesting that instead of remediating harm, policies can contribute to and exacerbate community risk (David & Hughes, 2023). Consequently, it is vital for policies to consider social consequences and have a deep community understanding. Our project magnifies the absence of this consideration, which is exhibited by water inequality. Multiple sources cite the “fragmented” nature of California’s water supply and distribution system. The broken nature of this system leads to impoverished areas only having access to poor quality and contaminated water, whereas wealthy regions have a clean unlimited water supply (David & Hughes, 2023). Moreover, Pannu attributes California’s water quality issues to the dysfunctional complex local water systems that split management and sabotage equity (David & Hughes, 2023). The divided nature of the water system further widens the gap between rural and urban and poor and wealthy. Water access and quality directly reflect resident inclusion and consideration in society (David & Hughes, 2023). We consider water inequity not merely as a policy issue, but as a social issue that further cements the inequities faced by citizens of different social classes. Furthermore, our narrative argues that water access is not an isolated issue, but instead a physical manifestation of socioeconomic disposition.

The state of California has already made some progress on addressing social inequity in climate change. A paper published by UC Berkeley addresses social vulnerability to climate change and has the explicit goal of climate justice (Institute et al., 2012). This paper identified 19 indicators of climate vulnerability to create an index, including factors such as coastal flooding, high heat events, air quality issues, and wildfire vulnerability. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has created a similar aggregator of vulnerability indicators in the CalEnviroScreen web tool (August, 2021). This website hosts an interactive map that visualizes geographic areas based on two broad categories of pollution burden and population characteristics. This source is less focused on the broader impacts of climate change (such as extreme weather events and droughts), but gives good insight into state priorities on assessing population vulnerability particularly due to the built environment. 

Our project will similarly aggregate data that identifies the geographic distribution of environmental and social factors, for example by analyzing individually and then together the federally-created Environmental Justice Index (CDC, 2023) and a California source that assesses water system quality per census tract (California State Water Resources Control Board, n.d.). By doing so, our project aims to provide similarly high-quality data and analysis at the intersection of social justice and environmental burdens, contributing to the overall literature on climate justice.

On a broader scope, this project ties into capturing the “slow violence” that Rob Nixon describes, where events that aren’t particularly captivating or attention-grabbing aren’t reported on or shown near as often to the general public (Nixon, 2011). In this case, a drought isn’t as exciting to report on as a flash flood or a “more spectacular” climate event, yet its effects are still inequitably distributed and happening on the larger timescale Nixon describes. Since our project is situated within the digital humanities, we are able to not only provide a humanitarian narrative on these pressing environmental issues, but also support our narrative with data and visualizations. In doing so, we will take heed of Heather Houser’s warning about data visualizations: that graphics may seem objective and data may seem concrete, but there is always a human aspect to how data was created, and there will be a human viewing the visualization on the other end (Houser, 2017). Our data critique section offers a place to consider the biases of the datasets we use throughout this project, and our process of visualization creation likewise considers the accessibility, “objectivity,” and emotional impact of data visualizations we choose to use. 

When considering the inequitable distribution of the burdens of climate change and human-made changes to the environment, we also can consider broader power dynamics underlying modern day society. Imani Perry provides a historical basis and account of how the modern day patriarchy exists today (Perry, 2018), which can help inform our understanding of why certain groups have the highest impacts from climate events. In particular, we can consider how some groups have limited levels of personhood under the law, making the negative impacts seem less severe to the patriarch who enjoys full personhood. Keeping in mind these more theoretical humanitarian arguments can help guide critical thought about our findings throughout this project.

Understanding the connections between environmental justice, droughts, and water quality in California and how each of these factors can heavily impact each other is important for us all to see how environmental injustice has negatively impacted vulnerable communities in California. With California’s history of zoning practices and industrial development which created environmental hazards, these vulnerable communities seem to always bear the brunt of the water quality and water scarcity issues. In California especially, drought conditions have magnified the water quality and scarcity concerns, especially in areas that are heavily reliant on water sources such as rivers and reservoirs. Finding ways to increase water flow and decrease concentrations of pollutants is something that we are looking at figuring out since some of these vulnerable communities are dependent on these water sources for agriculture, recreation and drinking. These water quality concerns only get exacerbated during a drought, and only magnify the long-term health concerns. 

For our data visualizations, our primary focus will be illustrating the patterns of water usage, drought severity, and the impacts of climate change in California. We aim to depict disparities in water consumption and drought vulnerability, particularly concerning socioeconomic differences and community resilience within the state. We will utilize bar charts and scatter plots as key visualization tools, leveraging their effectiveness in comparing categorical and frequency data, respectively. Bar charts will aid in comparing discrete categories, such as water usage levels and drought severity classifications. We can also show the relationship between water usage in various industries and the frequency of droughts over time through scatterplots, making it easier for viewers to identify possible correlations between data and to notice fluctuations in these patterns.Additionally, we plan to incorporate map-based explorations to illustrate the geographical disparities in water availability and drought impacts in Los Angeles. By overlaying relevant data onto maps, such as water scarcity indices and climate change projections, viewers can visualize the distribution of water resources and drought vulnerability across different neighborhoods and regions. We will use choropleths to provide spatial context, enabling viewers to understand the geographic variations in water stress and identify areas in need of targeted conservation efforts and resilience strategies more intuitively within California.

The following visualizations illustrate statistics on the population served by different water sources in California, as indicated by their Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUC), to highlight the difficulties associated with water shortage and its effects on populations throughout the state. This graph lays the groundwork for a more thorough examination of the Tree Huggers project, where we will delve into the complex connections among California’s drought, environmental justice, and water quality.

We start at the source: a significant source of California’s water comes from the Colorado River. Understanding how much water we use, especially in comparison to other states, puts into perspective the scale of the issue we are talking about. The Colorado River is only one of California’s water sources, one which doesn’t even originate in California.

Colorado River Water Output over Time

Given California’s heavy reliance on the Colorado River Basin, the distribution and use of the water have long been contentious problems. To ensure fair and sustainable management of this limited resource, it is essential to further explore the water distribution and access within California and throughout the states that make up the lower basin. Note that, despite the Colorado River originating primarily in Colorado, California is the largest user of its water — almost as much as Arizona and Colorado combined.

Let’s take a closer look at how California uses water.

California State Water Usage

California’s water management policies have evolved over the years, reflecting the state’s unique geography, population growth, and changing economic and environmental conditions. California’s complex history of water infrastructure and policy development has been shaped by a variety of factors, including the state’s semi-arid climate and rapidly growing population. As a result, California has developed a sophisticated system of water management that involves a range of stakeholders, including state and local government agencies, private water utilities, and individual water users.

The line plot above illustrates the mean percentage of water use across various sectors within California from 1985 to 1995, revealing trends in commercial, domestic, industrial, and thermoelectric water consumption. Each sector has its pattern of usage, which contributes to the state’s overall water management. It is important to note that there is a gap in the available data from USGS Water Use Data for California, as figures from 2000 through 2015 and its counties are not reported or displayed in its archives. This gap in data presents a challenge for policymakers and researchers seeking to develop effective strategies for managing California’s water resources. One of the most significant factors shaping water management policy is climate change, so the state will likely experience more frequent and severe droughts and more intense precipitation events. These changes will pose significant challenges for water managers, who need ways to balance the competing demands of various water users while ensuring that the state’s water resources are used sustainably and equitably.

Domestic use is the largest category, generally referring to water used for household purposes such as drinking, cooking, cleaning, bathing, and watering gardens. Although the state has diversified its water usage over the years, with domestic needs taking precedence, it also indicates that while the total water usage in California may have decreased since 1980 when adjusted for population growth, the state remains a significant water user, necessitating a nuanced understanding of water utilization patterns to ensure sustainable and equitable resource management. To address these challenges, California has developed a range of strategies aimed at managing its water resources more effectively. These strategies include the development of new water storage facilities, the implementation of water conservation measures, and the promotion of more efficient irrigation practices.

To put this data in context, it is helpful to understand California’s historical relationship to water. One of the biggest events affecting water usage is droughts; taking a look at droughts and our responses to them over time will help inform our understanding of water policy in California.

Timeline of California Droughts

​​Each drought episode prompted the creation of reservoir operations planning and water supply contract criteria. The most recently documented 2012-2016 drought prompted the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), shifting water governance and resource management. These events highlight the importance of proactive measures, such as multi-purpose projects like the Federal Central Valley Project (CVP) and the State Water Project (SWP), emergency relief, and conservation initiatives. California’s experience with frequent and prolonged droughts demonstrates the interconnectedness of water supply, environmental sustainability, and economic resilience, emphasizing the need for adaptive approaches to water management in the face of increasingly uncertain climate conditions.

Of course, an important humanitarian question to ask regarding state policy is the question of social justice. Projects like the CVP and SWP are built to provide water to “the people of California” broadly, but we must be wary of the often inequitable distributions of the benefits of policy. Often inequality is entrenched and based on a long history of oppression; using data we can reveal these broader trends we might expect to see in a state and government still operating under the logics of Imani Perry’s definition of patriarchy. We can first take a look at the Environmental Justice Index:

Map of Environmental Justice Index (EJI) Over CA

 We incorporated a color legend ranging from light (low values) to dark (high values) to represent the median Environmental Justice Index (EJI), a metric designed to assess the extent of environmental injustices within a given area. In this visualization, EJI values closer to 1.0 suggest higher levels of environmental justice, indicating better access to clean environments, resources, and social equity within a community. The EJI is an index created by the federal government for all of the United States and available at a census tract level. It takes into account various factors such as water pollution levels, proximity to hazardous sites, socioeconomic status, demographic composition, and access to resources like healthcare and education.

Our map aims to illustrate the distribution of county responses across the state, highlighting potential disparities in data reporting and the effects of water usage and pollution. It underscores the relationship between water sustainability and vulnerability to drought and climate change, particularly in counties with lower EJI scores. Our visualization of EJI across California’s counties highlights the intersectionality between water quality, social equity, and social vulnerability, emphasizing the urgent need to address systemic disparities. We can next take a look at water system quality to see how and if these factors are related.

Water System Quality

Using data available at the California level that maps individual water systems to their quality and corresponding risk scores enables us to create a map showing water quality over California. Explore the map above. If you zoom into Los Angeles, you might notice more at-risk water systems in downtown LA. It appears, then, that water system quality is roughly correlated with metrics of environmental justice, as often downtown LA experiences a higher environmental burden.

We would expect that combining the Environmental Justice Index from the previous section with the water system quality would reveal a trend in terms of a higher environmental justice burden also meaning a higher risk water system. Mapping each water system to its census track and comparing this with environmental justice scores for each census track, we obtain the following graph:

Despite a likely trend, we see there is pretty much no correlation between Environmental Justice Index and water system quality. The three smaller graphs below show the components of the EJI (environmental burden, social vulnerability, and heat vulnerability) also mapped against water quality score; here as well, there is essentially no correlation. A discussion of how we ensured these two datasets were combined properly is in the data critique section of our website. This trend is somewhat surprising, although the EJI takes into account many different factors and is calculated at the federal level, while the water system quality is more localized and may just be a function of the local geography. Ultimately, there are too many factors to be certain why there appears to be no correlation between EJI and water quality.

If we instead take more simplified metrics, poverty and drought risk, which do not involve as complicated of calculations, we find a stronger correlation.

Poverty vs. Drought Risk

This data set consists of drought and water shortage risk scores pertaining to small community water systems in several California counties. The rescaled and normalized risk score includes factors such as exposure to climate change, past drought impacts, physical vulnerability, organizational vulnerability, exposure to current conditions, and more; this is displayed on the y-axis of the graph. Poverty refers to the proportion of families living at or under the federal poverty level, shown on the x-axis of the graph. We utilized this data and compared the risk score to poverty, to illuminate a potential link or correlation between socioeconomic components and vulnerability to certain natural disasters. Our narrative aims to highlight a connection between the impacts of natural disasters and socioeconomic elements– essentially discovering why events like droughts become “disasters” and if this categorization could be avoided. The graph magnifies the disproportionate risk certain communities face when they lack infrastructure and support. Additionally, the data focuses on a smaller scale, thus providing a more human-level perspective. This visualization and data provide a more sound case for the link between socioeconomic status — a factor of inequality — and water system issues.

In California, addressing the interconnection between environmental injustice, water quality, and drought necessitates coordinated policy initiatives that place a premium on fairness, resilience, and community involvement. This calls for financial support for the modernization of water infrastructure, legislative actions to prevent pollution and safeguard water sources, and fair allocation of available water resources. Furthermore, in California’s varied and drought-prone terrain, community-driven strategies that strengthen impacted communities and incorporate their viewpoints into decision-making processes are critical to building resilience and advancing environmental justice. By fostering understanding of these key points, individuals and organizations can support group efforts to alleviate environmental injustice, enhance water quality, and increase drought resilience in California.