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Last May, Donald Trump stood in an arena full of farmers from California’s desiccated Central Valley and said words many yearned to hear: “If I win, believe me, we’re going to start opening up the water.” The audience, waving FARMERS FOR TRUMP signs, hollered their approval. “I just met with a lot of the farmers,” he said. “They have farms up here and they don’t get water. I said, ‘Oh, that’s too bad. Is it a drought?’ ‘No, we have plenty of water.’ I said, ‘What’s wrong?’ ‘Well, we shove it out to sea.’ And I said ‘Why?’”

Last weekend’s storm provided another healthful dose of water to area lakes from Lake Hemet to Big Bear, but probably none received a greater benefit than Lake Elsinore. Southern California’s largest natural freshwater lake — which depends primarily on water overflowing Canyon Lake’s dam upstream — has risen more to 1,240 feet above sea level — eight feet higher than in early September when it was at its lowest point in more than 20 years.

 

An “atmospheric river” continued to batter parts of Northern California on Tuesday, causing widespread flooding. The heavy rains prompted the National Weather Service to warn of a dam failure outside Carson City, Nev., saying that it was “not a drill” and that residents should “move to higher ground now.” But less than 90 minutes after issuing the alert, the agency changed its report to say the retention basin in Dayton, Nev., had not failed. Instead, it was full and overflowing into drainage areas, the weather service said.

Waterlogged Northern California will get more heavy rainfall into Wednesday, renewing fears about flooding in the region. The new onslaught of rain comes as Southern California dries out following downpours that left five people dead. A flood warning is in effect for Northern California’s interior counties through Thursday. Storms started overnight Saturday, with two to four inches of rain expected by Wednesday, CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar said. Some areas may get up to 10 inches and the driving rain could drastically reduce visibility, Chinchar warned.

California is not the only place in the West confronting startling amounts of rain and snow. Drought conditions have declined substantially across the region in recent weeks, with heavy storms replenishing reservoirs and piling fresh powder on ski resorts. Yet there is one place where the precipitation has been particularly welcome and could be transformative: the Colorado River basin, which provides water to nearly 40 million people across seven states.