Joan Didion (1934-2021) was a native California author and playwright whose famous writings have featured California water issues.

Born and reared in Sacramento, she wrote extensively and personally about her feelings on the subject of water. In her memoir, Where I Was From, she told not only the story about her pioneering family’s roots in the Sacramento area but also of the seasonal flooding, the water politics and controversies, and the California State Water Project (SWP) and federal Central Valley Project (CVP).

She wrote about her personal visit to the CVP/SWP Joint Operations Center in Sacramento in the essay titled “Holy Water,” which was included in “The White Album.” Both the essay and memoir were voted among the great literature of California water during the Water Education Foundation’s 35th anniversary celebration in 2012.