But cut that even further and you risk salt water intrusion into the greatest and most productive agricultural land in the world.
Here is an example I am talking about.
The one where the politicians are deliberately keeping water from the central valley is criminal. There is no natural shortage as they had the water turned off.
I bet insiders are buying up the dried up farmland.
Why Does California Let Billions Of Gallons Of Fresh Water Flow Straight Into The Ocean?
Excerpt: Even on the driest year in recorded history in 2013, it still rained 3.6 inches in Los Angeles. An inch of rainfall in L.A. generates 3.8 billion gallons of runoff, so you’re talking about more than 12 billion gallons of water that could be captured, but that flows within hours down our concrete streets and into the ocean. There’s enough rainwater to be harvested to produce 30-50% of the entire city’s water needs.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashoka/2015/04/15/why-does-california-let-billions-of-gallons-of-fresh-water-flow-straight-into-the-ocean/