The overarching water myth in our part of our state is one of massive entities — MWD, LADWP — controlled by criminally wealthy Kings of California with unholy power straight out of a film noir plot. Ordinary people who dare question the way that water works need to be told, once again, “Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown,” and move on to fairer fights with organizations that aren’t so rich and gigantic that they are unassailable. When you live in Altadena, the water with which you irrigate your yard and brush your teeth does not come from anyone living very large. It comes from one of three tiny, ancient-for-California water companies that have so few resources that when disaster strikes, there is no bucks-up bureaucracy to bankroll a big fix.
–Written by Whittier Daily News opinion columnist Larry Wilson.