The goal was not just to restore a natural habitat, but also to pilot a solution to the massive water management crisis that has bedeviled California and the West for decades. Like many other parts of the West, the Central Valley always seems to have either too little water or too much, and the restored floodplain has solved both problems at once. During wet years, it absorbs excess water from the San Joaquin River, slowing down the waterway before it can rush downstream toward large cities like Stockton. As the water moves through the site, it seeps into the ground, recharging groundwater aquifers.