[tomc1985]

Like the other replies here, I disagree. I am in coastal Southern California and we enjoy a fair degree of water independence, but even so up until recently drought conditions affected us greatly. I am thankful that my municipality got a desal plant up and running as that has relieved us of a lot of the 'please conserve water' messaging we used to get, which is now gone.

This is also a gentle reminder that the majority of water use here is agricultural, and that a large share of that usage goes to almond production -- which is one of the thirstiest (and most profitable) plants around. If our agribusiness switched to more economical crops the severity of the drought might be greatly lessened.