I am wondering if this water could have been used to fill the empty reservoir that caused the firefighters to run dry. The local water managers are obviously incompetent, because when the wildfire crisis hit, they were totally (and I will add stupidly) unprepared. If these guys did a better job, intervention would be unnecessary.

ALSO the lakes in question belong to Army COE, not the state.

Trump is also going to have to address California's forestry management morons as well. They will have to do controlled burns again, regardless of whatever blue-haired nonsense they believe. It's not working! Do something different!

#12

It's evidently a race to the bottom.
Constant catastrophic wildfires and empty reservoirs aren't going to work either. Something must be done, even if it's not right. Anything is better than what they're doing now.

Maybe these lakes were used only because the state doesn't control them?

It is impossible to tap that water.

It looks like they dumped it on the ground with a mind to recover it elsewhere in the aquifer.
Either they do this, or the water just goes into the ocean.
I see the almond growers are agitated. Some say the almond growers use an unsustainable amount of water and are part of the problem in the first place. I expect they lobby up with the bribes to be allowed this, which would explain the state officials' upset.

Environmentalists argue that, despite the economic benefits of almond farming, the amount of water allocated to almond production is excessive and disproportionately impacts California's water resources, particularly in drought-prone areas. This threatens long-term water security and environmental health.

..threw away enough water..

Well they can't really 'throw away' water.
If they dump it on the ground it's going to join the aquifer.
If they leave it in the river it's going to join the ocean.
The difference here is that we can get it back out of the aquifer.

I'd say, being not an expert of course- the more water in the aquifer the better. Probably what they're thinking.
I'm sure this is not a personal decision on the part of the president, he probably has advisors but his advisors are not (yet) beholden to the almond lobby.

Hendrik Willem van Loon wrote in The Story of Mankind that almonds and peaches are both from the same original plant, modified by man to accentuate the fruit in one case and the pit in the other. I wonder if it's true.
Just wanted to share a good read. The Story of Mankind is a good airplane book.

#19

The Santa Ynez Reservoir

#20

In a statement made after the January dam releases, local water officials said they would use the water for "limited irrigation demand and groundwater recharge."

-groundwater recharge

How does California get its water supply to cities like Los Angeles?

Los Angeles, California gets its water from the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the California Aqueduct, the Colorado River Aqueduct, local groundwater, and recycled water.
Aqueducts

Los Angeles Aqueduct: Carries water from the Eastern Sierra to Los Angeles

California Aqueduct: Carries water from the western Sierra Nevada to Los Angeles
Colorado River Aqueduct: Carries water from the Colorado River to Los Angeles

(all of these aqueducts are on the wrong side of the mountains)

Groundwater

Local groundwater basins are a source of water for Los Angeles
Recycled water is used to recharge groundwater basins

Dude, you are being tiresome.

Here is another thought to confuse you further:
Let's say a river is interrupted on it's way to the sea by a dam. A lake forms, and the river continues on it's way, through the dam gates, after the lake fills up.
Now let's say you take some water from the lake and dump it on the ground a couple hundred miles away.

What happens to the lake? Does it fill back up, or just is it empty now??

#32
It's both you silly sealion

To cross the Tehachapis into Southern California, a huge amount of water is raised some 2,000 feet at the powerful A. D. Edmonston Pumping Plant, making it the world's highest single water lift.

Because I commented on the apparent inherent contradiction of a comment your current alias posted?

#38

there is no inherent contradiction
all of the ways listed are how the wawa gets to el aay.