Today's Sacramento Bee reports that a serious drought in California is virtually a sure thing, and that it may well be the worst in the state's history.
The state is also less able to deal with a major drought than it was in the early 1990s, because farmers have replaced hundreds of thousands of acres of seasonal crops with permanent crops such as fruit and nuts.
Local water districts will soon announce Stage 2 and 3 conservation measures. But critics suggest that the state isn't doing nearly enough to handle the water crisis. Agriculture still gets the lion's share, but weaning the industry would mean major economic losses.
