Good write up. These are all good ideas, but unfortunately, water independence is a pipe dream for southern Cal. There's a lot they need to be doing as described by Ken, but deserts don't support this level of population density without bringing in water.
Recycling water is a PR problem but it's moving forward in San Diego after years of being called "toilet to tap." It will help, but recycling half their water supply seems very optimistic.
Ken wrote, "Rainwater capture is also promising. In just one large rainstorm, 10 billion gallons of runoff, one-twentieth of our yearly need, end up in the Pacific Ocean. The technology to capture large quantities is not quite developed, but people are working on it.
What is this referring to? The "technology" of capturing rainwater is called a "dam". New dams built over the last 25 yrs have helped South Cal weather the fluctuations in imported supply and prepared them for an earthquake disruption.
