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Podcasts Take Two
How much water does California really have?
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Jul 20, 2015
Listen 6:48
How much water does California really have?
If you live in California the drought message is loud and clear. SAVE WATER
Well water is pumped from the ground on April 24, 2015 in Tulare, California.
Well water is pumped from the ground on April 24, 2015 in Tulare, California.
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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If you live in California the drought message is loud and clear. SAVE WATER

If you live in California the drought message is loud and clear: SAVE WATER.

Yet even with a drastic cut in use by residents and business owners, the state has even les water available than what we first thought. 

This isn't news to scientists or lawmakers, as ProPublica's senior reporter, Abrahm Lustgarten writes in his latest piece.

"The thing is in California, our state water officials don't really know how much water we have, and that's something they don't really make public," he said on Take Two. "But they don't have a good estimate of the total ground water supply for example and there's a new law passed last year that will help them reach a number... but that will take a couple of decades."

Take Two's A Martinez checks in with Lustgarten about "double counting" water in the dry lands of the West. Click on the audio above to hear the full interview.