Rain, rain, come to stay
Zachary Faria
Many California Democrats didn’t think that the solution to the state’s drought problems could just fall from the sky. And then the “atmospheric river” storms hit.
California is now seeing record rainfall, which has led to flooding and mudslides. The downpour has been brutal in some parts of the state. But it has also opened the eyes of California Democrats to the need for more water storage. Water may not grow on trees, but when a fancy storm is literally throwing it at you in the middle of a drought, you might as well make the most of it.
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California Republicans and the farmers in the state’s Central Valley have been clamoring for more water storage for years. Believe it or not, California wasn’t always in a drought. In February 2019, the state received an estimated 18 trillion gallons of rain from Mother Nature, but by 2021, the state’s reservoirs had hit their lowest levels since 1977.
This is in part because, much like many California residents, the water kept fleeing the state. About 80% of the water that fell on coastal and urban areas of the state ended up being returned to Mother Nature by way of the Pacific Ocean.
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This lack of gratitude has made California’s dry seasons worse. Because the state hasn’t been proactive in preserving rainfall and has instead focused on regulating water usage, an increasing number of fields there, in a state known for being America’s breadbasket, go unplanted. Several towns have run into water troubles as well. The environmentalists who scream the loudest in California do everything they can to block new pumps and dams, and so nothing has been done.
But political reality can’t be avoided for long, not even in deep-blue California. Water is continuing to move up the priority list for residents as the drought continues, and it is suddenly occurring to Democrats that they should capitalize on whatever water nature provides. All it took was an “atmospheric” storm.