Hilary vanquished California's drought. But much of that water was wasted
LOS ANGELES — Almost all of California is finally drought-free, after Tropical Storm Hilary's rare summer drenching added to this winter's record-setting rainfall totals. But despite all that drought-busting precipitation, California continues to capture only a percentage of that water. Much of the abundance in rain from Hilary ended up running off into the ocean — not captured or stored for ...
LOS ANGELES — Almost all of California is finally drought-free, after Tropical Storm Hilary's rare summer drenching added to this winter's record-setting rainfall totals.
But despite all that drought-busting precipitation, California continues to capture only a percentage of that water. Much of the abundance in rain from Hilary ended up running off into the ocean — not captured or stored for future use, when California will inevitably face its next drought.
"We're not even coming close to capturing all the runoff," said , the director of Water Scarcity Solutions for the Natural Resources Defense Council. He still called Hilary's rainfall "an unexpected boon" for Southern to help refill vital groundwater resources.
