https://www.siliconvalley.com/2023/01/13/california-storms-environmental-rules-are-limiting-how-much-water-can-be-captured-for-cities-and-farms/

The most drenching storms in the past five years have soaked Northern California, sending billions of gallons of water pouring across the state after three years of severe drought.

But 94% of the water that has flowed since New Year’s Eve through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a linchpin of California’s water system, has continued straight to the Pacific Ocean instead of being captured and stored in the state’s reservoirs.