From 19th century battles between farmers and hydraulic gold miners over debris polluting rivers to 21st-century political duels over spawning salmon, Californians have squabbled incessantly over how water should be captured, allocated, conveyed and priced.

California has always been celebrated for Innovation, yet we can’t budge our elected leaders to truly innovate much of anything, states Comstock’s president and publisher. In this month’s letter, she considers the complicated issue that is our state’s water dilemma.

Storms have already tested a region at high risk of flooding. One report says the Central Valley needs $30 billion in improvements over 30 years.

Combining grazing with large-scale solar is one version of the new field of agrivoltaics, which combines panels with farming and ranching. Advocates say it could help farmers adapt to the state’s driest weather in 1,200 years while making space for the thousands more panels needed to hit California’s ambitious zero-carbon targets.