This chapter begins by providing background on the setting for water management in California, then reviews the state’s most significant historical droughts. Outcomes and lessons learned from these droughts are then discussed, along with expectations about future drought conditions. Drought management in California has historically focused on the concept of drought being a period of consecutive dry years of statewide spatial scope. The adaptive capacity provided by the state’s extensive water infrastructure and widespread access to groundwater makes a single dry year not a significant water management concern.