The American West is in the throes of a 20-plus year megadrought as California’s water resources fall to unprecedented levels. Global climate change has certainly contributed in many ways to this situation, from increasing aridity to changes in the seasonal precipitation patterns. But many human-related decisions have also been critical to our arrival at this point. We will look at the main sources of water in California, the decisions made over the past century to develop and manage those resources, and, with hindsight, the mistakes that were made and how they combined with global climate change to create a “perfect storm” for Western water resources. We will also discuss some realistic and not-so-realistic solutions to our current water crisis.