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California’s top water officials are considering permanent conservation rules that would outlaw hosing down driveways, over-watering lawns and running sprinklers on grassy street medians. The proposed regulations would target wasteful water use in cities and towns statewide, permanently bringing back some of the temporary restrictions imposed during California’s record-setting 2012-16 drought. The State Water Resources Control Board is taking up the measures as California faces worsening drought conditions near the end of a record-warm winter.

Everyone knows about the risk from Oroville Dam after the spillway crisis, but most of the dams in the north valley are considered to have a high-hazard potential. That means at least one person would likely die if the dam were to fail.New requirements for these high-risk dams, including annual inspections, will come into play if Gov. Jerry Brown signs the dam safety bill on his desk soon. The bill was unanimously approved by the Assembly on Feb. 12, the one-year anniversary of the Oroville Dam spillway evacuation. It was penned by Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Yuba City.

With snow failing to pile up in the Sierra Nevada, Californians are starting to think about the unthinkable again — another round of drought to shrivel lakes, parch the landscape and roil power markets. The mountain range hasn’t been this bare since the depths of the monster dry spell that was declared over only last year. “The snow numbers are abysmal,” said Brian Fuchs, a climatologist at the National Drought Mitigation Center. Some ski resorts are struggling to keep trails open.