Insights
Events & CLE
Infraday California: The End of Cheap Water

Infraday California: The End of Cheap Water

April 23, 2026

O’Melveny counsel Zach Smith will be a guest speaker at the 8th Infraday conference in Los Angeles, California. Smith’s presentation is titled ‘The End of Cheap Water. He will discuss how the American West is running out of cheap water, as shrinking snowpack, groundwater limits, and rising demand strain supplies, and explore why water agencies are shifting toward costlier solutions like water purchases, recycling, and desalination, driving a new era of major infrastructure investment.

Smith is also set to moderate a panel discussion on ‘Agriculture Infrastructure, Water Scarcity & the Future of California’s Food System.’ The panelists will unpack how irrigation, groundwater management, infrastructure, and new technology can help balance competing water demands and sustain Central Valley agriculture under growing climate pressure.

For more than a decade, Zach Smith has guided water clients in a broad range of contexts, including contentious water rights litigation, high-value water rights transactions, as well as strategic water supply planning for farms, landowners, and the environment. He has secured wins in groundbreaking water rights litigation, but believes that collaborative approaches often result in the best, most sustainable outcomes for clients.