Doomsday Trigger for Megadrought?

[NickB79]

22. You'd need hundreds of desal. plants to make a dent

Direct human consumption of water is small potatoes; the real water needs come from manufacturing and agriculture and dwarf what few million people drinking/flushing/washing in an average year use.

And without water for manufacturing and agriculture, California can kiss most of it's economy goodbye.

Without a strong economy, the populace of the state just moves (well, those that can afford to).

Frankly, if the drought that California is currently experiencing turns out to be a sign of the future and not just a one-off event, the money would be better spent in planning for a state that has fewer people overall, and assisting people and industries who want to in migrating to new areas of the country or even just more water-stable parts of the state.