And not even with Lake Mead (the source of much of Southern California's water) at its lowest level since Hoover Dam was dedicated in 1935. This is an old line: Droughts are fake, water shortages are human inventions. President Trump didn't invent this viewpoint, but it was a natural for him and he famously ran with it in 2016 during his campaign because it was embraced by the Central Valley counties economically dominated by agriculture. Broken down into its components, the argument includes the assertion that after the construction of New Melones Dam on the Stanislaus River in the late 1970s, California lost its mojo and never again built a new dam to keep up with the growing population and its needs. Perennial candidate John Cox, in particular, advances this claim. This urban myth is undermined with every drink of water taken in L.A. or much of the rest of Southern California. Before coming out of our taps, much of our water was stored in Diamond Valley Lake, a reservoir near Hemet completed in 2003. Many Bay Area residents similarly drink (and farm fields irrigate) from Los Vaqueros reservoir, halfway between Walnut Creek and Tracy, completed in 1998 and on the drawing board for a major expansion. We have indeed kept building water projects, mostly for people, as opposed to cows and almond trees. Newer projects should be, and generally are, judged by how much water they will yield, and for whom. Given the state's hydrology and the simple facts about where water is and isn't, that means more spreading grounds and restored flood plains to allow stormwater runoff in flood years to recharge groundwater, which has been over-pumped by agricultural interests. It means reclaiming and purifying more water from urban storm runoff and waste. Lake Mead will not be full again in our lifetimes, because after prolonged drought and diversions for human needs, there is simply not enough flowing water to fill it. Responding to a water shortage by building more empty dams is kind of like responding to a money shortage by building more empty banks. Lack of supply and lack of storage are not the same thing. And desalination? Sure, of course — where projects make sense, and where ratepayers reap the benefits. Many desalination projects are hampered not by any lack of engineering or willpower mojo, but by the intense energy demands and costs, and by financial shenanigans that put ratepayers on the hook for water they don't need or want.