Marc Reisner first published his book, Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, in 1986. Despite being nearly 40 years old, the book remains more pertinent now than ever. It should be noted that Reisner published this work not as a sociologist, but as an environmentalist and journalist. Nonetheless, the book offers a comprehensive understanding of the development and governance of water in the American West by both public and private interests, as well as the significant socio-ecological contradictions that have emerged from it. Reisner argues, as have many environmentalists before and since, that transforming the American Western desert into a “garden” is not only impractical, inefficient, and unsustainable but is more akin to chasing a mirage than realizing an actual reality.
Reisner’s book encompasses twelve chapters, with updated versions featuring an afterword written by Reisner in the early 1990s. The most recent edition includes a 2017 postscript by environmental scientist Lawrie Mott, reflecting on developments since Reisner’s passing in 2000. Throughout the book, Reisner examines a broad spectrum of projects and key figures pivotal to water development in the West. He opens with geologist John Wesley Powell’s early warnings against reckless water development, a theme echoed across subsequent chapters through various actors’ actions. The narrative includes the efforts of William Mulholland, Fred Eaton, Joseph Lippincott, and others to divert water from Owens Valley to Los Angeles in the early 20th century, as well as Senator Carl Hayden of Arizona’s push for the Central Arizona Project (CAP). Hayden’s lobbying highlighted not just Arizona’s claim to Colorado River water but also the project’s inefficiencies and high costs. Additionally, Reisner profiles Floyd Dominy, the outspoken commissioner of the United States Bureau of Reclamation, responsible for some of the most controversial dams of the twentieth century, including the Glen Canyon Dam, which led to the creation of Lake Powell. The book also explores the California State Water Project (SWP) and the over-extraction of the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the world’s largest aquifers, showcasing the wide-reaching implications of water management decisions.
While the list of projects detailed in Cadillac Desert is extensive, the contradictions inherent in their creation hold more significance. Reisner contends that water development in the American West was driven less by necessity and more by political capital, interstate and interdepartmental competition, and class interests. One particularly revealing chapter, “Rivals in Crime,” underscores the competition between the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers over river development. Although the Bureau primarily focuses on water development for power and irrigation and the Corps on flood control, their overlapping ambitions led to competition for funding, influence, and projects. This rivalry often resulted in redundant, costly, and ineffective projects, exacerbating dispossession and challenging environmental regulation. Reisner also illuminates how, despite their enormous cost to taxpayers, many water projects disproportionately benefited a few large-scale farmers. These farmers, as Reisner notes, relied heavily on government-subsidized water, without which their agricultural practices would be unsustainable.
Reisner highlights the irrationality of water development strategies alongside their significant costs and environmental impacts. A primary consequence of constructing large-scale water projects is the dispossession of lands, a scenario vividly illustrated by the displacement of ranchers in Owens Valley due to actions by Los Angeles capitalists and water developers. This theme of dispossession extends to the targeting of indigenous lands, notably with the construction of the Garrison Dam on the Missouri River in North Dakota. The chosen site was within the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, home to the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Tribes. Despite initial discussions promising fair compensation for the land, negotiations faltered after a disrupted meeting between the Interior Department and the Tribes, led by activists. Ultimately, the Tribes received inadequate compensation and faced restrictions on using the reservoir’s water for fishing, cattle watering, or timber harvesting. Additionally, the reservoir was named after Sacagawea, a revered ancestor of the Tribes, adding a layer of cultural insensitivity to their economic and environmental grievances.
The development of water projects not only led to dispossession but also to environmental degradation and disaster. Reisner discusses various dam failures, notably the Teton Dam failure of 1976 in Idaho, highlighting the risks associated with ambitious water management projects. He also addresses the contradictions inherent in irrigating the arid West, pointing out that the region’s challenges are not solely due to water scarcity or overallocation. Other significant factors include siltation, especially behind dams, and increased salinity resulting from inadequate drainage of irrigated lands. The salinity issue in the Colorado River became so severe that the water allocated to Mexico under the 1944 Water Treaty (part of the Colorado River Compact) adversely affected Mexican agriculture, necessitating negotiations in the early 1970s. The U.S. government ultimately agreed to implement measures to reduce the river’s salinity. Reisner also reflects on historical precedents, noting that ancient irrigation-based civilizations did not collapse merely due to water shortages but were also significantly impacted by rising salinity levels.
Reisner’s Cadillac Desert is, in my view, indispensable for anyone seeking to grasp the complex socio-ecological dynamics of water development and its inherent contradictions within the American West during the twentieth century. Although explicitly crafted to further an environmentalist perspective and aimed at a general readership, the book emerges as a crucial resource for sociologists and scholars alike. It meticulously examines the intricate web of interactions among the capitalist elite, governmental bodies, and the processes driving the development and commodification of environmental resources. This makes Cadillac Desert not just a compelling narrative of environmental policy and history but also a vital text for understanding the broader socio-economic forces shaping the American West’s ecological landscape.
The Online Sociologist 