With Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent executive order calling on local water systems to start conserving more water, we find ourselves in an all-too familiar cycle.

When signs of drought abound, we hope for miraculous storms to parch the land’s thirst. Hope starts to fade, and our agencies pivot into crisis mode, cutting water use in ways that likely won’t impact daily life but will ensure our faucets keep flowing. But what happens if the faucets stop flowing?