Video: Making the most of a wet year
One of California’s driest and warmest three-year periods on record just ended in an epic wet season. As snow melts and water demand skyrockets, it’s a good time to take stock. Did we sock away some water for the next dry period? Where are we most vulnerable to flooding, and what might we do better? “We are having an extreme year, and it is embedded within a series of extreme years,” said PPIC Water Policy Center senior fellow Jeffrey Mount at an event last week. “I want everyone to remind themselves where we were a year ago. Last year at this time we were pretty freaked out about storage,” he said, referring to the low reservoirs and meager snowpack, which supplies about 30% of the state’s water.