Climate change is throwing California’s already variable climate for a loop, supercharging the extremes of drought and flood and leaving us with fewer “in-between” moments. But while we’ve done a great job preparing for increasingly frequent and severe droughts in California, our infrastructure and institutions remain woefully underprepared for the extreme floods that are coming our way. It’s time to take this threat seriously, and accelerate planning for the wet years we know are bound to happen. The need is urgent. 
-Written by Ellen Hanak, a senior fellow, and Letitia Grenier, director of the Public Policy Institute of California Water Policy Center.