California Water

About the Book

A panorama of water development in California: Rain and snow; Rivers and reservoirs; Ground water; Agriculture; Central Valley Project; Cities and farms; Colorado River; Delta; Dams; Earthquakes; Fish; Floods and droughts; Hydro power; Peripheral Canal; State Water Project; Water quality and recycling; Wetlands; Wild and scenic rivers; and more.

About the Author

Erwin Cooper was born in Chicago in 1920. Spent his pre-teen years in the Near East (parents were church missionaries in Greece and Bulgaria). In California graduated from Claremont High School and Chaffey Junior College.

Was a ship’s waiter (Hawaii, Manila, Hong Kong, Singapore) in 1941 and steamed into Pearl Harbor while the blackened battleships were still smoldering. Served in World War Two: Field Artillery, then Military Intelligence in Europe (1942-45). Was a documents translator (German) at the war crimes trials in Nuremberg 1945-47.

Graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a journalism major in 1948. As a California State Information Officer served with the Department of Veterans Affairs (Cal Vet) in Sacramento (8 years), Water Resources in Los Angeles (7 years); Motor Vehicles in Sacramento headquarters (18 years). These jobs took him to all parts of the State.

Published “Aqueduct Empire – A Guide to Water in California” in 1968. Self-published “Understanding California Water” in several editions between 1997 and 2004. Published a novel, “Jokerland – an Exploration of the Near Future” in 2006.

Has been twice married, and lives in retirement in Chico, California.