“The water in our state is not sufficient to add more demand…and that now means that some large development can’t go forward. If we don’t make changes with water, we are going to have a major economic problem in this state.”

That’s a quote from the director of the California Department of Water Resources. With temps hitting triple digits in early June here in NC, we may be looking at another summer of drought here as well. As Mr. D. has commented, the time has come to stop referring to “droughts” and start grappling with a long-term imbalance between supply and demand.
More from this NY Times article:

Also in Riverside County, a superior court judge recently stopped a 1,500-home development project, citing, among others things, a failure to provide substantial evidence of adequate water supply.

In San Luis Obispo County, north of Los Angeles, the City of Pismo Beach was recently denied the right to annex unincorporated land to build a large multipurpose project because, “the city didn’t have enough water to adequately serve the development,” said Paul Hood, the executive officer of the commission that approves the annexations and incorporations of cities.

In agriculturally rich Kern County, north of Los Angeles, at least three developers scrapped plans recently to apply for permits, realizing water was going to be an issue. An official from the county’s planning department said the developers were the first ever in the county to be stymied by water concerns.

What some call “agriculturally rich” others might call “stinking desert.” This is a link to a photo of what non-irrigated land looks like in Kern County.

There is a lot of truly agriculturally rich land in the central valley..too bad so much of it has been paved over for housing developments, many of which are now in foreclosure.