Opinion: Pricing groundwater will help solve California’s water problems

IN THE FACE of its worst drought in centuries, California is finally getting around to regulating its groundwater use. As an agricultural economist who studies water regulation in California, I think this is a unique chance to change the way we price groundwater and protect this scarce resource. But I’m worried that we might not make the most of this opportunity.

The Western U.S. is currently in the midst of a megadrought — since 2000, the region has seen its driest two decades in more than a thousand years, in part because climate change has brought more heat and less rain and snow.