California’s dilemma: How do you harness an epic amount of rain in a water-scarce state? Let it flood, scientists say

What about aquifers?

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But the abrupt shift from drought warnings to flood warnings highlights the dilemma California faces: How do you manage an overwhelming amount of rain in a water-scarce state? And is it possible to harness that water so it’s available in the dry summer months?

Part of the solution, climate scientists told CNN, is drawing levees back to allow rivers more room to flood safely into surrounding land.

NOAA's hurricane hunters are now targeting the West Coast's atmospheric rivers
“We have to let our rivers flow differently, and let the rivers flood a little more and recharge our groundwater in wet seasons,” Peter Gleick, a climate scientist and co-founder of the Pacific Institute in Oakland, told CNN. “Instead of thinking we can control all floods, we have to learn to live with them.”