[ ♪♪ ] on "america tonight" - what they couldn't see. the disability that made her a good parent. >> there was so many things that they just threw out. like i couldn't keep her safe and how is a blind parent going to change a diaper should disability disqualify parents from raising their kid. and good to the last drop. what is draining away

california's water. michael oku in the imperial valley, and the part we play in the crisis. >> reporter: you wouldn't recognise that this is a waste landfall there's water everywhere i look. water to my right and to my left, as far as the eye can see a closer look at california in crisis. whose water is it anyway. thank you for joining us i'm joie chen. of all the demands keeping california going with the flow farms face the toughest accusations of draining away the precious resource, water. california is in the fourth year of a drought. water cuts took effect and environmental charged favouring farms obvious fish and other wildlife. the fight is on as "america tonight"s michael oku found.

california grappling with a tough question. whose water is it. you are looking at santa barbara, anything but a lagoon these days. nothing much to see, except some weeds. another casualty of the drought. >> it's bon dry, bone dry. >> carol lee says residents and businesses are paying the price for a severe dry spell. >> we have been given small allocations, and if we go over them we are fined hely. >> what is re heavily? >> i was told for example, that there are some heavy user paying $50,000 a month. >> 50,000. >> in fines. >> reporter: in fines. statewide communities are forced to cut consumption or face fines, with an exception. you want to see water usage on

steroids go out to the dry desert regions like the imperial valley. >> reporter: university of colorado san diego professor steve erie is an expert on water use. agriculture has been hit badly, that may be in portions of the central valley it's not the case on the colorado, with the impeeria valley. >> this is where he's talking about. the western part of the sinoran desert. near the border. and not far from the colorado river. it gets on average. three inches of rain annually and is in the 15th year of a drought. it's pretty much the last place you expect to grow crops like cotton and wheat. that is exactly what is happening. >> we don't grow. but farmers grow in the valley.

>> the family has been farming for 100 years. >> how do you grow grass in the middle of the desert. >> well, you just add water. >> and do they ever. more than 880 billion gallons of colorado river water is used every year by this farming community of less than 200,000 people. the entire rest of southern california uses less than half of that. >> you wouldn't know that this is a waste land. every place i look there is water. there's water all the way down to my right, and water to my left as far as the eye can see. fields are flooded daily, using a massive irrigation system. primarily for one crop. >> over half of the water and half of the ache rig goes for alfalfa. now, we have been beating up on

almonds, but, you know the alfalfa usees 2.5 times as much water as almonds. and everywhere you turn you see it. alfalfa, which is turned into hay. grown green, bundled blond. it wasn't always this way. imperial valley was uninhabitable until a design system in 1901, delivering the cold fields into an emerald carpet. >> it's a crazy place to raise a water intensive crop. it is profit ill. it's 240 to $300 worth of water, producing on average a crop yield yearly of about $1,000 if not more. some of the hay is sent

overseas. destined for places like asia and the united arab emirates to feed cattle. >> take farms, a grower in black. they shift up to 50 trucks according to reports. >> this is a high-value crop for the area. it's a major crop. high economic impact on the valley. and everyone that lives here. >> and some of it has been grown by fellow farmers to feed hamsters in japan. >> they sell propellants for fees, and now they don't do it. someone else took it over. competition, i guess, i don't know. crops don't just need water to grow. they retain the water. according to a study 50 billion gallons of river water travelled

to china, embedded in alfalfa. these farmers are not subject to the water restrictions, even if the crops are exported abroad. california law allows water for anything considered beneficial use. >> why is feed for hamsters in japan of beneficial use. >> it's feed. feed is an agricultural use. broadly defined. you may not like it but it's covered. >> reporter: how is it that you can grow the thirsty crops in the middle of a drought of the a lot of people would think it's crazy. well, we have water right that are very old, and we have the rights to that water, and so that's why we have the water to grow the crops. >> california water law like other western states is based on

a simple premise. first in time first in right. simply put, whatever got to the river first had the rights to it. the first arrivals enjoyed senior rights. those that followed have junior rights. i have friends on the east coast. in the other parts of the country who here this and say how can a private individual own the rights to a source like water. >> it is nuts we are talking more than almonds and pistachios. according to erie water right holders control 75% of the claims on the colorado river. they control how much waters cities like los angeles and san diego get. something not lost on the farmer. >> we are covered with water. >> they are the kings on top of the hill. it's not just liquid gold it's

the holy grail. and it is power. >> water and power have gone hand in hand for decades. back in 1901, the model said it all. water is king. but california's unprecedented drought caused some to think the unthinkable - dethrown the water kings. >> a lot of people don't understand you know, what it takes to farm and grow the crops. they are not cognisant of all that is involved. it takes water. >> the population out here is so small relative to the amount of water you have the rights to. is it unreasonable to put the discussion of water rights on the stable. >> we have the rights to the water, i don't see what the art is. we do have to feed the nation

and where is the water going to go. are you trying to change water right, and you'll have 100 lawsuits from all different directions and that's the way it's been since we populated the country. for the states to take over would be expensive. the price for rice owned for decades would have too many zeros to counselled. -- to count. >> why can't we change the water rites. >> we can do it. it's an expensive proposition, it's like buying a house. it's about just compensation. eminent domain, and it depends upon current market rates. the thing is the rate for water is going sky high. the question is do we want to pay the piper. >> responding to the reality of the drought. some farmers are switching to

drip systems, and are fowling crops. they are voluntary. city dwellers face restrictions and fines. here the farmers call the shots. >> in a drought, he or she who has water is king or queen. water flows uphill. never forget that "america tonight"s michael oku with us. explain this to us. does it come down in the end as many things seem to to money, he who has the most mumies has controlled water rights. >> in a word, yes, we are talking about tens of billions. you would literally have to pay every farm in the state of california, not just the farms in the imperial valley and there would be years of litiation. the bottom line of all that is

we are not only talking about money, but also essentially reversing years of well-established legal doctrine. the fact is this is akin to voting rights in america. it wouldn't necessarily require an act of god, but it would require a reservoir, a torrent of the political will and in the state of california the well is dry. the fact to this is the third rail of politics in california for a reason no one wants to fight with big arg quulture, and no one wants to -- big agriculture, and no one wants to deal with the complex issues. when it comes up it's because it's used as a bargaining trip to get formers to willingly comply and transfer water to more populous communities. >> what will it take.

we hear stories about drought. what will it take to force real change. if you talk to people in the community, they may say you are almost there. this is unchartered territory. all the singles are there. there were record-low snow packs, the colorado river is expected to shrink and we are seeing projections from n.a.s.a. that a good portion of the valley will be so parched it will be uninhabitable in the next 100 years. this week a panel of experts recommended that major reforms take place, including visiting the issue of water rights. >> you were out there, you were in the valley you walked in the fields. what are farmers telling you? >> the farmers say with unanimity that we are not fat cats walking in the field, we are feeding america - do you

want cheese with your hamburger, do you want your hamburger at all. do you want you kids to eat carrots, it requires a lot of water. would you like it on the golf course on on food on your tail. >> good point. next - talk to the animals and for them. even when backed by a top law-maker, animal rights activists are muzzled later, blind to their ability, the struggle for the disabled to parent their own children. >> and hot on "america tonight"s website. what makes them run. children with autism, and the impulses that put them at risk to themselves. that's at aljazeera.com/americatonight. era.com/americatonight. >> we're here to fully get into the nuances of everything that's going on not just in this country

but around the world. getting the news from the people who are affected. >> people need to demand reform... >> ali velshi on target

our fast-forward segment focuses on a fight on the farm. animal rights activists see themselves as watch dogs. tactics met a backlash from rancher and farmers who suspect they are being set up. "america tonight"s sheila macvicar found disturbing images of animals apparently mistreated as you see in her story. she found lawmakers joining the effort to silence critics. >> acting on a tip the animal right group peta sent an investigator, and a second to secretly recall what was happening in iowa. >> reporter: over several months pigs were beaten with rods

kicked repeatedly and a crippled sou receiving an electric prod. in iowa's capital demoyne the peta video prompted action from state legislators. not what you might think. they passed a law aimed not at animal abuse, but anyone going undercover to vet abuse. the -- to investigate abuseful it was lobbied making it a crime punishable by gaol time to lie on a job application at a farm. opponent call it ag gag. . >> the ag gag law is a misnomer. there's nothing about gag. it's about agriculture. and it is about being authentic. why did the farm bureau support the law. >> we supported the law, we didn't want individuals coming to the farm, plying to work telling us that they had a

history or experience in animal care which was not true. the intent was to capture footage or video used against you or put you out of business. >> the cow is alive. >> yes. >> in utah animal rights advocate shot this video tape from the side of the road of a cow moved with a tractor outside a slaughter house. >> oh no. >> the police were not centered in the slaughter houseworkers instead mia was arrested and charged with a misdom eener. agricultural operation interference one of the first charged under an ag gag laws. >> am i free to leave or being detained. >> you are being detained. >> the case against her was dropped. fast-forward to a surprising turn that will muzzle the watch dogs.

north carolina lawmakers overrode the veto of governor pat macquarie and will allow form a sue workers recording illegal activities joining several other states with similar ag gag laws. >> next, in more than three dozen states she could lose her child, why, and what she had to do to protect her right to parent. and headed to the front lines of the fight. >> friday on "america tonight" a view of the force making inroads against the group known as the islamic state. who is the p.k.k. if they have the same goal as the united states why are we not supporting them. that's friday on "america tonight".

whose fit to be a parent? we began a focus on disabled parenting with a look at the questions facing people with physical and intellectual disabilities. at the center of the debate should the 4 million american parents that face the challenges be disqualified from raising their kids. christopher putzel follows up with the fight of one mother ready to show her ability. >> if you wonder what motivates someone in these situations it's pretty easy it's your kid. i made her. she came out of me. it's my job, it's in my d.n.a. to raise that kid, and i intend to do it. >> reporter: jessie had hear daughter jean four years ago. >> having a child for the first

time when people say that it's life-changing, they are totally right about that. it changed the way that i relate to the world, and the way the world relates to me. in my specific situation i'm somebody who is totally blind. i was born blind, and parenting, just like everything else i have experienced along the pathway is something that you know there's not a rule book out there that says this is how you are parenting your child. yet we are programmed to do the things rite of protecting one's child, being a mother. it is something you need a rule book for. jessie faced loading her child.

>> divorce is rough. people start things all over the place. we are parents with disabilities, and often we have more struggle than parents who are able bodied is the system is not equipped to sort through all of that. the courts are not used to seeing parents with the disabilities as equal contributing members. because of the stigma that we hold towards individuals with disabilities. >> that is so awesome. >> there were a lot of assertions made about my ability to parent. and those accessions were not backed up by evidence. sometimes when you think blind person people think oh how are

you going to keep the child safe. what if she runs into traffic, what if she picks up a rock and swallows it, and are basing attitudes on their own miscontention about what blindness is -- misconception about what blindness is. >> reporter: like many with disabilities jessie says she was grilled in court about her competence as a parent. >> i had to fight like hell. i literally had to make my own evidence. there were things they threw out like i couldn't keep her safe. how will a blind parent change a diaper. in spite of doing this prior to the cdy battle. my experience in the court was one of the most devaluing experiences of my life. i felt the accomplishments i made getting through school buying a house, running an

agency having a baby, they had no value. not only was it terrifying but it was dehumanizing. >> unlike other parents with disabilities jessie was in a unique position to dispel the court's misconceptions. she's the director of a resource center for people with disabilities. >> what i have to do in my situation and what others did, i had to create my own evidence. i paid an occupational therapist to perform adaptive assessments. she came into my house, assessed the house for whether it was baby proofed. she went to the park about me and my child, watched how we interact. she could see i put bells on my daughter's feet. i spent $33,000. i'm paying back some of it, it's would years later. i would have lost my house, and it was worth every bit of blood,

sweat, tears, anxiety. it was word it. >> it took two years of battle. jessie won her fight. i came out of okay after a long protracted fight. there are parents over the country losing custody of their children, because the system dz itself doesn't understand for acknowledge the value of adaptive parenting. in 37 states disability is a justifiable reason to take custody from one parent and give it to another. until we change that statistic there, people with disabilities

will be at a disadvantage as parents. i'm a successful person with quite a resume of accomplishments. when i walk into that courthouse i am seen as a parliament that could harm this child because of my disability. >> good job. my daughter is tall and beautiful and full of life. she's growing up in a world where disability is seen as a limitation. but i'm raising her in a community where disability doesn't matter the biggest success - being a parent. that's "america tonight". tell us what you think at aljazeera.com/americatonight. talk to us on twitter and

facebook and come back we'll have more of the "america tonight" tomorrow. i'm "ali velshi on target", crude awakening, a close call exposing a danger in neighbourhoods across america. relics on the rail. safety concerns over train cars older than many passengers. the deadly derailing of amtrak regional 188 in ph