You're falsely attributing it to incompetence, when malice is the more obvious motivation. And, the link I posted shows how thoroughly corrupt California and the Resniks are. They don't need all that water, and they are in no way deserving of being granted it by California, to then sell back to Californians.

But, in general, I agree that California is absolutely wasting water, moreso than the water they flush out the rivers to try and save the smelt.