Yuba River Accord won't end West's water wars, but it's a start

Date Published: Oct 02,2009

The protagonist played by Jack Nicholson in the movie "Chinatown" uncovers one of the most heinous plots in the history of US water wars - the illegal diversion of water to Los Angeles that decimated the Sierra-Nevada paradise of Owens Valley in the 1920s. The story is based on the dirty dealings typical of high-stakes water management across the US West.