<p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">First it was desalinating ocean water. Then it was recycling sewage water. Now water districts desperate to diversify their supplies in the face of ever-longer droughts are pursuing water purchases from hundreds of miles away as insurance against shortages.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">With water imported from Northern California, via the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, or the Colorado River in ever-shorter supply, the Metropolitan Water District is no longer able to guarantee imported water for replenishing local groundwater basins. <a href="http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_19027543?" title="Districts looking for water in far-away places">More</a> (Source: Contra Costa Times)</span></p>