Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Public hearings around California have made the stakes unmistakable: environmental groups argue that the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delt accelerating ecological decline requires immediate action, while farm districts and urban water agencies warn any changes to water policy could disrupt supply chains, threaten major segments of the state's agricultural economy, and drive up water bills for households across California.

A California water official has warned that the longer the Golden State goes without adequate snowfall this winter, the "harder it will be to catch up" to the levels needed to maintain California's reservoir water supply through the dry summer months.