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California has hundreds of miles of coastline, yet melted snow from other states remains an important source of its water. Perhaps a needed change is on the horizon — one that would even help Nevada.

Interstate negotiations over the Colorado River appear deadlocked. The three Lower Basin states, including Nevada, remain at odds with their four Upper Basin counterparts. There is significant disagreement over what to do when the river doesn’t deliver enough water. Unfortunately, that has been the reality for many years, as the river was overallocated from the beginning. Lake Mead is forecast to drop even further in the coming months.

The Trump administration on Friday gave its approval for plans to build Sites Reservoir, a vast 13-mile-long off-stream lake north of Sacramento that would provide water to 500,000 acres of Central Valley farmland and 24 million people, including residents of Santa Clara County, parts of the East Bay and Los Angeles.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation issued a document called a “record of decision” for the proposed project, signing off on its environmental review process.

Washington’s Yakima River basin has been thirsty for rain, but it’s finally getting a drink.

Drought conditions have not let up in the region for three years. But in the first full week of last December, its mountain reservoirs racked up a combined 36 inches of rain.

Water use in California was lower than officials estimated it would be between 2000 and 2020, according to a new report.

The findings raise questions about the accuracy of long-term water-demand projections, which could have knock-on effects on costs borne by consumers, but overall the news that water demand is lower than projected is positive for the state and its regular battles against drought, experts told Live Science.