But Where Will the Water Come From?

California can still wring water out of its rivers — in theory, and only if you’re willing to pay an increasingly steep premium for it.

Take Sites Reservoir, which could become the first new major reservoir in California in decades. It would pull water from the Sacramento River to fill a valley in the coast range with enough water for roughly 3 million households, then distribute it to the local farmers and Southern California cities that would partly fund its construction.