“If you fill the reservoirs up I don’t see what more you can do except maybe have people leave the state.”
The problem is that the population of California has doubled (at least, probably more) since the last storage reservoir was built. The a$$hole voters keep rejecting building more storage capacity because the envirowhackos convince them it’s wrong to dam up a valley and fill it up with water. We have a vacation rental property in Monterey County (well-known for envirowhackos). Last year our June tenants paid $123 for water. This year about the same amount of water cost $495. Monterey County has voted down reservoir construction for years and years. It leaves you wondering just what will awaken these idiots to the realities of life. But there are some bright spots. Sonoma County has done the right thing and they have enough water storage for seven years, but they are not the norm.
I think that building nuclear (maybe renewable) powered desalinization plants along the coast is the only answer. Fill existing coastal reservoirs from desal. Stupid to pump from the mountains to the coast where all the people are. The dams we have are sufficient for flood control and agriculture.