California Senate proposes to spend $3.4 billion on drought

California gets nearly all of its rain and snow in the winter and early spring. But this year, snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains is less than half of normal and most of the state is well below normal precipitation amounts.

Western US prepares for possible 1st water shortage declaration

The lakes that store water supplying millions of people in the U.S. West are projected to shrink to historic lows in the coming months, dropping to levels that could trigger the federal government's first-ever official shortage declaration.