The successful Napa wine growing industry consumes a lot of water. By one expert estimate, every gallon of wine requires up to 75 gallons of water, when you consider all of the water uses from vineyard to shipment of bottled wine. The economy of Napa is based on wine, and wine is based on water. We export water.

When we clear cut watershed woodlands, we decrease the water supply while increasing water consumption. This is unsustainable, particularly as we look forward to a climate that is hotter and drier than it has been in the past.

When there is a shared resource that is limited, and many independent users of that resource, without constraints, market forces will increase a rush to grab as much of that resource as possible, without regard to the community as a whole. That inevitably leads to crises and damage to the community as a whole.

We are well on our way to water crises, and jeopardizing the quality of product the county produces, ability to provide for visitors, and keep water available for all. It was only a year and a half ago that we were in a severe drought, with increasing prices and decreasing water quality. Future droughts will hit our economy harder. Imagine when the towns in this county have to allocate water between wineries, hotels, and homes.