A doomed L.A. stormwater project tells all you need to know about the perversity of water rights in California

Crescenta Valley, which serves 35,000 people in mostly unincorporated Los Angeles County neighborhoods between Glendale and La Cañada-Flintridge, wants to capture ocean-bound rainwater from the Verdugo Wash and use it to recharge local groundwater supplies. Verdugo Wash doesn’t carry much water, but capturing some of it would provide one-sixth of the water supply for the small district.