People came to California over the last century thinking it’s climate state was eternal. Historically, over the last 100,000 years, California has waxed and waned between “good” weather and droughts - some lasting 200 years. The current state of affairs, weather wise in California, is not news to the land there.
What is NEW to the land there is:
(1) a massive agriculture industry that is O.K. IF/WHEN the weather/climate stays good, and excessive on water consumption when it’s not [the massive subsidence of the land in the central valley due to how much water is pumped out of the ground there is not new to this period of drought, it has been going on for decades, ever since agriculture became such a big industry there];
and (2) too many concentrations of too many people in the water-poorest parts of the state. If the state were divided in two, the more-water-abundant north, would be charging through the nose for the over-populated water-poor south to get any water from it.
Agriculture also would take some big hits. It is not sustainable at its present levels under present conditions. That’s just the facts, not a judgement on farms or farmers. And to simply grow it huge again “when times get better” would simply mean a repeat of many water crisis again when a drought returns. Better that the industry shrink now, to something more sustainable, and leave it that. Then there will be more left, underground and in reservoirs to tide everyone over when droughts return.
What about desalinization?