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Chapter One THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER M ark Butler wasn’t going anywhere. When a massive storm blew across the Pacific Ocean in early December 2014, Northern Words to Understand

aquifers: underground chambers that contain water. deficit: shortfall or shortage. hydrologic cycle: events in which water vapor condenses and falls to the surface as rain, snow, or sleet, and then evaporates and returns to the atmosphere. metabolism: the biological process by which food is converted into energy. precipitation: rain, hail, or snow. runoff: water not absorbed by the soil that flows into lakes, streams, rivers, and oceans.

California received between 3 and 6 inches (8 to 15 cm) of rainfall, while Southern California got 1 to 3 inches (2 to 8 cm). That might not sound like a lot, but it was nearly double the average annual rainfall expected in the Bay Area.

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