During the 70's or early 80's there was a nasty drought in California. They had restrictions on watering lawns and implemented low flow shower heads and penalties for using too much water.

About two years in people started asking why the lawns in Beverly Hills were still so green and there was a little dust up over that but soon after it started raining and not much else was said.

It rain and rained and snowed in the mountains for long time, but the use restrictions and penalties were still in effect. The water department kept saying "The ground water tables are low" and for a long time we believed them, but it kept on raining. Finally the LA Times or one of the TV stations sort of forced the officials at the water department to go show them the ground water levels and, of course, they were all full to the brim and spilling over.

Since history has a way of repeating itself, I though it'd be worthwhile to mention this now