Opinion: As We Reach 10 Years of the Carlsbad Desalination Plant, Let’s Not Forget Why it’s Needed

Californians are no strangers to drought, having lived through many dry periods in the last several decades. The good news is that December storms and previous strong rainfall filled state reservoirs to healthy levels. The bad news is that history shows the good conditions won’t last and worries over water supplies will continue in the coming years.

One need only look to 2015, when California was in one of its most severe droughts on record and Gov. Jerry Brown ordered the first-ever, statewide water reduction requirements aimed at urban Californians. Local reservoirs were depleted, imported supplies were strained and the region faced escalating uncertainty about the stability of its water future.