The vast majority of water in western US goes to agriculture. You can of course make the obvious argument about local food production being necessary, but if the choice is more people can drink water at the cost of more expensive almonds and alfalfa, I'm ok with that. The idea that the west has done anywhere close to enough to optimize water consumption is not right, there's quite a bit of headroom left (that should be used to replenish aquifers).
People might think you're being hyperbolic about the alfalfa but you are not. 25% of Colorado River water is used to grow alfalfa which is crazy given the contention around Colorado River water rights.
One of the more enduring way of restoring the aquifer is to restore the riverlands the way it had been before we hunted out all the beavers. That is, to slow down water flow in the hydrological cycle so that it spreads out and meanders throughout the land.
