California water authorities told Al Jazeera Friday that barring a series of heavy storms, California faces a drought next year that would restrict residents’ access to water and hurt agricultural production in the heartland in the long-term. “On the horizon, there is a chance we will receive some rain and snowfall in Northern California. We’re hoping the storm door will open,” Bill Croyle, drought manager at the California Department of Water Resources, said. “We’re coming close to meeting some thresholds where we are in a drought. We’re looking at making recommendations after the January or February snow forecast,” he said. California’s wine industry worries about the prospect of an ecological disaster. “It has a potential to be a historic drought,” said David Graves, managing member of Sonoma Valley, Calif.’s Saintsbury Winery, which is associated with the trade group Napa Valley Vintners Association. For the past two years, California has […]