California water under the bridge

Re “Head-first into hazardous waters,” Opinion, April 25

Bill Stall needs to look at the world of Southern California: swaths of green lawns, lots of misdirected sprinklers and gutter runoff and uncovered swimming pools. That is why we need the water here in the south. Just like with oil, there is a finite amount to go around, and we need to be aware of that.

The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta’s decline has been accelerating; it started when water deliveries to the south commenced and has dropped with each increase.

MICHAEL SCHWEIT

Northridge

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Stall merely glosses over the real problem: that we in Los Angeles take for granted the right to grab water from all over the map.

The Sacramento levees must be repaired to spare the people living in the area a terrible disaster; as for who gets the water, Los Angeles needs to stop stealing from its neighbors and begin a major overhaul of its own system.

We need a system that doesn’t funnel most of our rainwater into the Los Angeles River and doesn’t depend on a few reservoirs that lose water to evaporation. We need to let the river run wild where we can safely do so, and rededicate green spaces and wetlands, allowing water to settle into underground aquifers.

The recently announced Rio de Los Angeles State Park is a step in the right direction; focusing on how to continue bringing in water from far away is just outmoded thinking.

ROBERT MASSING

Studio City