OPINION: All Wet: Extending California Drought Rules A Bad Idea

With storm after storm filling reservoirs and swelling the Sierra Nevada snowpack to 171 percent of its historic average, Californians might be surprised that officials with the State Water Resources Control Board want to extend emergency statewide drought rules for 270 days instead of letting them expire Feb. 28. They argue that the snowpack can be rapidly depleted and say there are still dry conditions and unfilled reservoirs in parts of the state.