William Kahrl, author of Water and Power and editor of the 1979 California Water Atlas died last Saturday, July 26, 2024, at age 78, after a brief illness. I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Bill in 2012 for the There It Is—Take It! audio tour, which examines the social, political and environmental history of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. I deeply admired Bill and kept in touch with him over the years.
Last year, I visited Bill and his wife Kathleen at their home in Newcastle, California, while a forest fire raged nearby in Auburn. Bill made us a soufflé for dinner. He was scheduled as a keynote speaker in a November event I’m currently planning, and he was looking forward to participating. I’m sad to share this news of his passing.
Here is Bill Kahrl’s obituary published in the San Francisco Chronicle on Aug. 2, 2024.
William L. Kahrl died in his sleep after a brief illness in a Roseville hospital on July 26, 2024, attended by his family. From his arrival in the state in 1969 to the end of his days, Kahrl, 78, made an impact on California and its communities in the areas of public policy, resource management, environmentalism and conservation, as a government employee, historian, journalist and consultant, always following his motto, “Let me help us.”
“Bill Kahrl was the classic definition of a citizen – tireless in improving his community, active in the public policy debate and passionate for the values and beliefs that define us as Americans,” said Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA).
Kahrl was the project director and editor of “The California Water Atlas,” published in 1979 by the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, which came out in the wake of the state’s then-worst drought of 1976-77. It remains a revolutionary, award-winning work for water resource management for a state in which there is no more important natural resource.
Further establishing his place as the pre-eminent scholar of water policy in the state, he subsequently wrote “Water and Power” as a Rockefeller Fellow; this history of California water development was subsequently selected by the New York Times as one of the best books of 1982.
“Bill Kahrl played a huge role in educating the public about the history of water in California, and about how our incredibly complex water system works,” said Jerry Meral, former deputy director of the California Department of Water Resources and Director of the California Water Program at the Natural Heritage Institute.
Kahrl was creative, engaging and rigorous as he crafted stories and columns about state, local and federal water policy for the Los Angeles Times and Sacramento Bee; he joined the Bee’s staff as an editor in 1986, eventually becoming its opinion editor before leaving the paper in 1997. He was also a co-founder of and contributing editor for the World’s Fair Quarterly magazine, and contributed articles to the California Historical Quarterly and the Public Historian.
“I met Bill Kahrl when he was the editor of the opinion pages of the Sacramento about 30 years ago and greatly admired his work,” said state senator Roger Niello. “He will be missed by many.”
Upon his arrival in California, Kahrl helped launch a new chapter in California’s history of public conservation, joining Marin County environmentalist Peter Behr as a CORO Foundation Fellow to work on the revolutionary Save Our Seashore petition drive in 1969. This unprecedented citizens campaign generated 450,000 signatures to inspire the Nixon administration to sign off on federal funding to save and extend the Point Reyes National Seashore, shelving National Park Service plans to sell off and develop a significant portion of the peninsula. For his work, he received CORO’s Irvine Fellowship as the person who “makes the greatest contribution to California.”
After that, Kahrl worked for Alfred E. Heller at California Tomorrow before joining the staff of Behr – then a state senator – later moving from Larkspur to Sacramento for new legislative responsibilities, including working for Behr on passage of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 1972. He subsequently worked for State Assembly Speaker Bob Moretti and then Governor Jerry Brown before leaving state government. It was entirely in character for Kahrl to work with leaders and elected representatives of both political parties to see good works achieved.
Helping save Point Reyes was not his only achievement in natural resource conservation. Kahrl later worked on the creation of Headwaters Forest Preserve, and one of California’s largest transfers of environmentally sensitive lands for public use and preservation at the Hearst Ranch.
In his later career, Kahrl was a public relations consultant, working with public agencies, tribal governments and private corporations involved with agriculture, educational reform, energy, water resource development, project siting and land use.
Kahrl remained active in California’s public affairs to the end of his life, chairing the board of the Newcastle Fire Protection District in Placer County, where he achieved funding and construction of a new fire station in the Sierra foothills above Sacramento.
Bill was a family man who encouraged his children’s and grandchildren’s pursuits and inspired them to think more deeply about current events and ideas. He loved jokes, was an avid and eloquent storyteller and voracious reader, and loved discussing politics, sports and culture with his family and friends. He delighted in playing Santa Claus in his community association Christmas celebration, entertaining and encouraging hundreds of California children every year. Bill also loved going to the opera in Los Angeles and was a movie enthusiast as well. He relished participation in the Sacramento Art Deco Society, and traveled the world with his wife, enjoying many adventures abroad.
Born on May 30, 1946 in Mount Vernon, Ohio to Frederick William Kahrl and Muriel Barker Kahrl, Bill graduated from Shaker Heights High School before going to Yale College, where he was a Scholar of the House, graduating in 1968. He attended the Yale Graduate School of American Studies and later received a National Endowment of the Humanities Fellowship to Princeton. He remained very active in Yale alumni events and matters until his death.
Bill is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Kathleen Mazzocco Kahrl, and their children, Christina (Charles Mae), Benjamin (Anne) and Justin (Gabriela), and his grandchildren Kayla, Peter, Makoa and Xiomara.
Funeral arrangements are with Nardone Funeral Home at 414 Washington Street in Peekskill, NY. A celebration of William Kahrl’s life will be held in California in September.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Newcastle Fire Protection District, PO Box 350, Meadow Vista, CA 95722 and to the American Heart Association.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.