What the Past Teaches Us About Managing Water Scarcity: Q&A with William Lilley

Here’s something many people don’t know: When it comes to diminishing water supplies in the American West, we’ve been down this road before—specifically, in the late 19th century when the region’s exploding population combined with severe drought conditions called for a long-term solution. We got one, thanks to the ingenuity and perseverance of an unheralded hero named Francis Newlands. Here, author William Lilley III talks about how Newlands’ vision for water management forever changed the West.

You first studied Newlands while writing your dissertation, “The System of the River,” at Yale in the 1960s. What inspired you to update that work now?

Today’s issues around water are the same as they were during Newlands’ time. If anything, they’re more urgent now. It’s important that we recognize that. Media reporting on today’s water scarcity and water mismanagement has the flavor of “discovering a new crisis.” The same goes for all of the news stories about how the precipitation from last winter’s rains and snowfalls were not captured and stored to the extent they need to be to ensure sufficient water supplies in the future. These are both old problems.

Newlands’ landmark achievement was the Reclamation Act of 1902, whose passage the Washington Post attributed to “the unique campaign of Mr. Newlands.” Why was it so significant then and why does it matter now?

The road to the Reclamation Act showed how hard it can be to reach political consensus, especially when it comes to water management. In 1900, the public knew that the huge arid West, especially California, could not survive bout after bout of drought. Politicians and businessmen in the West clamored for irrigation, but every proposal, such as ceding public lands back to state management, hit a dead end. Congress and the state legislatures were stuck in the same place for decades. You can see parallels in today’s political climate. 

The Reclamation Act’s passage was significant for several reasons. One, it enabled the vast irrigation system that now waters the western United States. It also represented a significant transfer of power from the states to the federal government. Finally, you could say that Newlands’ savviness, persistence and influence in getting the law passed marked the arrival of the policy expert as a major player in Washington. 

How, exactly, did Newlands pull it off?
He was able to jumpstart progress precisely because he was an outsider to the Western delegation and so were his allies. He showed that breakthroughs can happen when outsiders get involved.

Newlands’ personal style also had a lot to do with it. He had the gumption for it. He showed patience, perseverance, an ability to cajole, and a willingness to listen. He never involved himself in a water issue until he had been tutored by the leading experts and felt he understood all of the angles. 

Remember, this was the early 1900s. Newlands’ professorial-style lobbying, combined with input from outside experts, was new in Washington. He would spend endless hours with key politicians, patiently briefing them on issues just as experts had taught him. When he was marshaling support for the Reclamation Act, he would host elaborate “irrigation dinners” at his home so fellow lawmakers could hear directly from outside experts. In this regard, he helped usher in the modern era of the outside policy expert as a major power player in national affairs.