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Arizona would be the first state to feel the effects of Colorado River cutbacks if the water level continues to fall at drought-stricken Lake Mead, an environmental advocacy group says in a new report. The Western Resource Advocates reached its conclusion as the vast reservoir behind Hoover Dam sits at 39 percent of capacity. The group concluded that farmers would be first to feel the pinch; that suburban growth in Phoenix and Tucson could be slowed by cutbacks; and the cities themselves could face water reductions by 2020.

You know the answer already. No, the drought isn’t over in Southern California – even with this burst of insane amounts of rain the last five days, Alex Tardy, a National Weather Service meteorologist in San Diego, said Monday, Jan. 23. “It’s not likely that this month or next month we’ll erase the drought because our deficit is so large,” Tardy said. “The one thing we have to keep in mind is that our deficits are still 20 to 24 inches of rain over the past six years.”

In the years before California’s drought, it wasn’t unusual for Sacramentans to spend winters worrying about floods. After more than five years with little rain, the past two weeks delivered a bracing reminder that the region remains vulnerable to rising waters and overtopped levees. The recent rainstorms flooded scattered sections of greater Sacramento, from the Garden Highway north of downtown to the rural communities south of Elk Grove. Three small levee breaches added to the havoc caused by the wayward Cosumnes River.

Since 1971, the city of Ventura has been paying to help maintain the water system that delivers imported state water. On Monday night, Ventura took a step toward obtaining some of that product after the City Council voted 7-0 to authorize a comprehensive study that considers design, water flow, the environmental impacts and costs. The up to $653,000 is being partially offset by payments from the Calleguas Municipal Water District and the United Water Conservation District, which along with the Casitas Municipal Water District hope to be part of the regional effort.

California’s five-year drought has brought new urgency to balancing our water use — and, even in wet years, water issues always hover close to the political boiling point. Thus the state’s proposal that San Francisco significantly reduce water imports from the Sierra has the water world bubbling. Cutbacks will require political will, creative thinking and sacrifice. Yet the Bay Area must commit to do more to prepare for a drier future.