This page is a resource for all things drought – where you can find real-time reservoir levels, drought severity maps, special reports, a newsfeed of current developments and general background on droughts in California and the West, as well as answers to common drought questions and tips for how you can save water at home.

What is Drought?

Drought – an extended period of limited or no precipitation – is a fact of life in California and the West, with water resources following boom-and-bust patterns.

In spring 2026, record-high temperatures across the West obliterated much of the region’s already meager snowpack, sparking governors Utah and New Mexico to declare drought emergencies and some cities, such as Denver, to launch mandatory watering use reductions.

The Colorado River Basin, which spans seven U.S. states and portions of Mexico, has been battered by an extended drought since 2000. Scientists now believe the drought ranks among the worst in more than 1,200 years. During the winter of 2025-2026, snowpack in the river’s mountain headwaters in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming reached record lows, prompting hydrologists to project runoff into the river during the critical April-July period to be just 13 percent of average.

California has weathered several severe droughts over the past quarter century, most recently from 2020-2022, when Gov. Gavin Newsom declared drought emergencies in all 58 of the state’s counties. Newsom relaxed those restrictions in March 2023, after an exceptionally wet winter filled reservoirs and packed the Sierra Nevada with record snowfall. But drought fears have returned again. In May 2026, statewide reservoir levels stood at 117 percent of average, but snowpack was just 21 percent of average, raising concerns about water supplies the following year.   

Read more about droughts and their impacts in Aquapedia, our online water encyclopedia

Find the latest news on drought in California and the West in our newsfeed devoted to the topic.

See how drought is changing weekly across the West:

Drought FAQs:

• All Your Drought Questions Answered By The Water Education Foundation

Real-Time Reservoir Storage:

• Department of Water Resources: Daily Reservoir Storage 
• DWR: California Major Reservoir Levels (interactive)
• Bureau of Reclamation: Daily Central Valley Project Storage
• Bureau of Reclamation: Lower Colorado River Reservoirs
• NOAA: Colorado River Basin Reservoirs (map)

Water Supply Forecasts:

• DWR: Water Supply Forecast
• NOAA: Colorado Basin River Forecast Center
• NOAA: Western Water Supply Forecasts (NOAA)

Drought Resources:

• DWR: California Water Watch Dashboard
• DWR: Drought Page
• State Water Board: Drought Page
• DWR: Household Water Supply Shortage Reporting System
• US Geological Survey: California Drought Page
• NOAA: National Integrated Drought Information System
• Bureau of Reclamation: Drought Page

Other Water Resources:

• USGS: National Water Dashboard
• USGS: Water Alert/Map
• NOAA/Desert Research Institute: Western Regional Climate Center 

Water Conservation Advice:

• State Water Board Water Conservation Portal
• Save Our Water Portal
• Be Water Wise Portal
• State of California Water Saving Tips
• Water Education Foundation Tips:
  • How to Save Water Inside and Outside Your Home
  • Food Facts: How Much Water Does It Take to Produce…? 
  • Up Close and Personal: Water Use At Home

Reports & Studies:

California Department of Water Resources

• California’s Most Significant Droughts 
• Drought in California
• Countywide Drought and Water Shortage Contingency Plans

Bureau of Reclamation

• Water Reliability in the West: 2021 SECURE Water Act Report
• Colorado River Basin 24-Month Study

Research Centers

• Public Policy Institute of California Water Policy Center
• Stanford University’s Water in the West
• Colorado River Research Group

Water Education Foundation Western Water Articles:

• California Weighs Changes for New Water Rights Permits in Response to a Warmer and Drier Climate: Read article.
• Milestone Colorado River Management Plan Mostly Worked Amid Epic Drought, Review Finds: Read article.
• Questions Simmer About Lake Powell’s Future As Drought, Climate Change Point To A Drier Colorado River Basin: Read article.
• Can a New Approach to Managing California Reservoirs Save Water and Still Protect Against Floods?: Read article.

Go here to see all of our Western Water articles on all key water issues. 

A Final Thought on Drought:

“And it never failed that during the dry years the people forgot about the rich years, and during the wet years they lost all memory of the dry years. It was always that way.”
~John Steinbeck, in “East of Eden” 

Have a resource to add to this page? Contact Doug Beeman, our news and publications director, via email.