Drought Tips

California’s last multi-year statewide drought was from 1987 to 1992, according to the California State Department of Water Resources. In 1991, the driest single year of the drought, 23 of California’s 58 counties declared county-wide local states of emergency.

At the time, federal and state agencies collaborated with the University of California to create 17 "Drought Tips." Links to those tips in pdf format are below.

• Drought-Related Toxicoses in Cattle
• Leaching
• Water Quality Guidelines for Vegetable and Row Crops
• Water Quality Guidelines for Trees and Vines
• Water Balance Irrigation Scheduling Using CIMIS ET
• Furrow Irrigation
• Sprinkler Irrigation
• Irrigation Water Management Made Simple
• Assessing Water Quality for Livestock Under Drought Conditions
• Reclaiming Sodic and Saline/Sodic Soils
• Citrus Irrigation Scheduling During a Drought
• Drought Tactics for Apricots
• Field Use of Tensiometers
• Deciding How Much to Plant During a Drought
• Central Coast Crop Coefficients for Field and Vegetable Crops
• Irrigating Up Crops Efficiently With Sprinklers
• How Much Water Are You Applying with Your Low Volume Irrigation System?

The agencies that collaborated on the Drought Tips were:

California Department of Water Resources - Water Conservation Office
University of California
UC Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources
USDA Drought Response Office
USDA Soil Conservation Service

The Drought Tips were edited by Anne Jackson of the UC Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources.