Can California be helped by all the rain?

[question everything]

Yesterday on CBS News, the comment was that all the rain will not help with the drought. Why? Because CA imports its water from drought stricken regions and - if I understood it right - CA does not have the capacity or facilities to collect all that rain.

Is this assessment correct?

[lazarus]

1. yup

reservoirs are already overflowing.

[catzies]

2. Drought-stricken regions referred to means the Colorado River

We get our water from there and from the Sierra snowpack.
Most of the rain that hit So. Cal. just ran off into the Pacific. 30 years hence we might wish we had a mechanism for capturing the runoff.

[LeftyMom]

3. We have a zillion reservoirs in Northern California

but a great deal of our water goes downstate. Ultimately the problem is twofold: more people live in Southern California that can be supported by the environment there and too much water is wasted on animal agriculture, landscaping and other non-essential uses throughout the state.