California's Central Valley is sinking 2" per MONTH, destroying roads and vineyards, canals and buildings. Wow. This is because farmers are drilling ever-deeper wells. There is a limit--at some point there is no more water and you hit magma. But it is a very serious matter, as it affects the lives of many millions, for their jobs, for their food, for the future of our largest state (economically). We need stronger government; aquifers need to be protected. I do not believe we have the right to completely destroy a precious resource, to deprive future generations of it. We must be stewards and not rapists. This is a nightmare that one strong El Nino cannot remediate.
Just as we must pay the price of switching from such heavy dependence on fossil fuels, we must also convert to more water-smart practices, maybe capturing some snowmelt in some different state, to irrigate some other massive valley with good soil. And it wouldn't hurt many of us if there was a little less food available in the US.
And there may be a mass migration from CA resulting from this as well, which could cripple the mighty state. And Oregon and Washington are not prepared for a mass in-migration; Oregon has strict land-control laws and is already unable to provide housing to all at affordable prices.
This photo is of a dead almond orchard in CA:
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