Later this month Californians will likely see another round of water conservation measures. The State Water Commission is expected to continue the restrictions, but impose softer rules after a relatively wet winter. Doug Carlson with the Department of Water Resources says while water officials look at new storage and de-salination to increase water supply, they'll still stress conservation.
He concedes the conservation rules will probably be loosened, because the state saved some 1 point 2 million acre feet of water last year. That's enough for more than a million families of five. But he and other water officials are adamant that though El Nino helped this winter, it didn't completely offset the ongoing drought.