SAN DIEGO -- San Diego water experts recently traveled to Northern California to see why water rates continue to rise, and they found that the state has a good supply of water.

John Ford of the California Department of Water Resources said most of the water in the Sacramento River comes from snow.

"For the most part, you look for the winter storms to come in, saturate the ground, build up snow pack in the higher elevation," said Ford.

The snow pack in the Sierra-Nevada is the California's biggest water source. When it melts, trillions of gallons of water rush downhill into reservoirs like Lake Oroville, which is just north of Sacramento. However, it has not snowed much in California the past three years.

"Having those three dry years results in having a reservoir that's going to show very low levels," said Ford.

The water level is currently 192 feet below the ideal level when it is supposed to be only 100 feet below.

Experts said even if snow was plentiful most of it never makes it onto a farm or into homes. Water flows out of the mountains into an intricate system of rivers and waterways called the Bay-Delta. Six percent of the water is used on the farms near the Delta, and 18 percent is pumped south to other parts of the state, including San Diego. The remaining 76 percent flows through the Delta and out to sea. Experts said that is enough water for 19 million people over seven years, but California does not have the resources to collect the water without hurting the environment or cutting off local farmers.

Curt Schmutte of the Metropolitan Water District said, "If we had a new facility that was designed accordingly, we could capture water when it's in abundance, and store it and move it so that we could actually reduce the amount of water taken at times when it's more harmful to the environment."