"I've got mine; fuck you"

You should see the billboard size signs the farmers have up on the side of major highways. Basically death to Boxer, Feinstein, etc

The complaint is largely political. Water being sent places other than to farmers for irrigation. I guess we don't need food to survive?

Nonsense, unless you're willing to set the example by going first.

if you give the people the fish, they'll vote for you next time

humans as a species have gone beyond the biological evolutionary rules. Included in that, is our ability to wipe out other species, in some cases not to our benefit. We could have wiped out cows, but we figured our how to domesticate them. it's a deeper question than just letting it happen. It now is a property right issue. Think whales. No one owns them so it gets into a "tragedy of the commons" issue. It isn't in our rational self interest, even if we are capable, to wipe out species-EXCEPT certain ones. think mosquitoes.

Let the people starve to save a fish.

We have the same problems in Texas: Prolonged severe to moderate drought; lowering levels in lakes and reservoirs; and lowering levels in aquifers.
Not counting for water which may be produced by desalination, water is a zero sum game. All water is spoken for and water for public consumption is given priority over agricultural uses.
The Kay Bailey Hutchinson Reverse Osmosis desalination plant in El Paso, Texas is the largest inland reverse osmosis desalination plant in the world. Texas is also building reverse osmosis desalination plants in Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Port Lavaca, and Freeport.
Of course, people fleeing other states like California seeking employment in Texas place additional demands on our water supply.
I believe that Texas will be OK. We'll just build more desalination plants.
We must provide water for agriculture. We must be able to eat as well as drink.

just piling it on them:
http://naturalresources.house.gov/issues...