Droughts are a fact of life in California. The one that lasted between 1986 and 1992 was a bad one. In 1991 alone, state officials would estimate the drought cost the state $1 billion in agriculture losses, increases in energy costs and damage to the environment—that’s close to 2 billion in today’s dollars.

In the winter of 1991, KCBS Radio ran a series of reports entitled “Drought Watch”, looking at what had already happened—and what may lie ahead.  You’ll hear discussion of things like drip irrigation, advanced weather forecasting, new approaches to water storage, challenges to agriculture,  urban water rationing,

Reporters are Mike Sugerman, Jim Taylor, Barbara Taylor, Dave Padilla, Jerry Wilcox, Mike Colgan, Chris Cutter and Paula Drake.