In the midst of a historic drought, California Gov. Jerry Brown laid out a $1 billion relief plan aimed at funding water recycling, desalination and flood prevention.

At a press conference Thursday, Brown and other lawmakers behind the initiative warned Californians that when it came to the drought, , the Los Angeles Times reports.

"This is a struggle. And it's going to be something we're going to have to live with. For how long we're not sure," Brown said.

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California relies on the dwindling Sierra Nevada snowpack for up to a third of its water supply, which is a large factor affecting the extent of the drought.

The latest U.S. drought monitor report released Thursday shows that the and the mountain's rain levels are 10 inches below average.

Stacked on top of that, southern California saw record heat last week, .

Over $200 million of the plan will fund water recycling and desalination projects. Brown said that $660 million will go toward flood-control efforts. Funding flood-control at the height of a crippling drought seems paradoxical at first glance, but Brown connected the drought to the potential for "extreme weather events."

"And with extreme weather events, you get drought. And then all of a sudden, when you’re all focused on drought, you can get massive storms that flood through these channels and overflow and cause havoc," Brown said.

California is now in its fourth year of drought, but it was only last year that a drought relief plan was put into place.

"It takes a long time for people to grasp an unprecedented change in the history of the state of California," Brown said.

Last year Brown funded over $600 million in drought relief to help shore up water supplies, as the L.A. Times reports.

"If this drought continues, we'll crank it down and it will get extremely challenging for the people of California," Brown said.

On Tuesday, California's state government approved that limit outdoor watering to two days a week with the threat of a $500 fine for violators, SF Gate reports. At restaurants and bars, waiters will only serve water upon request.

Given the direction the drought is headed, this will likely be the beginning in a line of new restrictions.

"Don’t have any doubts we're going to increasingly control the use of water," Brown said.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: California Drought Feb. 2015