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San Diego’s overabundance of water during one of California’s worst droughts has reached a new, absurd level. The San Diego County Water Authority has dumped a half billion gallons of costly drinking water into a lake near Chula Vista.

Now that drinking water has been poured into a lake, the water must be treated a second time before humans can consume it. And here’s another kick in the gut. The drinking water that’s now been dumped into the lake includes desalinated water, some of the most expensive treated water in the world. Water officials will now have to spend even more money to make the once-drinkable desalinated water drinkable once again.

Workers across the county were hustling Monday to clear streets of the broken trees that were blown into traffic Sunday by a powerful wind and rain storm that also caused major power outages.

Winds gusted as high as 65 mph along the coast and hit with particular force in La Jolla, clogging parts of North Torrey Pines Road with the twisted remains of trees. Motorists also are being slowed in such communities as La Mesa, Oceanside and the Rancho Bernardo area.

Just how far could a wet winter go toward replenishing Southern California’s water reserves? Some. Maybe even a lot. But by itself that will not be enough to ensure we have the water for years ahead and inevitable droughts. Capturing and delivering sufficient supplies in a typical year is what really determines the reliability of a water system. And for that, today’s system is not as effective as it needs to be.

A powerful storm moved into Southern California on Sunday, bringing unusually strong winds of up to 70 mph to Los Angeles and Ventura counties.Officials warned that the storm is forecast to bring heavy rain and a risk of flash floods, especially in recently burned areas that could see mud flow down hillsides.

Strong winds were expected to cause flight problems at Los Angeles International Airport, and forecasters said there was enough instability aloft that there could be a 36% chance of thunderstorms in parts of the L.A. area. Waterspouts and even weak tornadoes are possible.

We are all hoping the current El Niño will bring an end to the drought. Whether or not we’ll continue to receive normal or above-normal precipitation is still a question, though an end to the drought may be unlikely this year. Whatever the outcome this year, future droughts are certain.

In 2014, California’s voters passed Proposition 1, a $7.12 billion water bond. While the bond contained $2.7 billion earmarked for water storage projects including dams and reservoirs, few if any such projects are currently underway.