Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/calif-locked-in-water-wars-as-drought-worsens Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript As California faces one of the worst droughts in decades, Spencer Michels examines the growing struggle over water rights in the state. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. SPENCER MICHELS: They were hoping to find one particular fish in their nets, the delta smelt, a tiny, short-lived fish that is a federally protected species. DAVE CONTRERAS: … 53, 52… SPENCER MICHELS: But after spending a whole day on the boat, not a single smelt was found. DAVE CONTRERAS: Nowadays, delta smelt are pretty hard to catch. Like in the 1970s, they used to be one of the most abundant fish around, so it's kind of scary now.