California’s dilemma: How do you harness an epic amount of rain in a water-scarce state? Let it flood, scientists say.
California has gone from extreme drought to extreme flooding in a matter of days. On Monday, 90% of the state’s population was under a flood watch as another round of storms rolled through. Yet it was just last week when several counties in the state were experiencing the exact opposite – exceptional drought, which the US Drought Monitor considers the most severe category. … But the abrupt shift from drought warnings to flood warnings highlights the dilemma California faces: How do you manage an overwhelming amount of rain in a water-scarce state? And is it possible to harness that water so it’s available in the dry summer months? Part of the solution, climate scientists told CNN, is drawing levees back to allow rivers more room to flood safely into surrounding land.
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