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Drought Report -
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Water resource scarcity continually defines and redefines the West. Drought is common. Urban areas are growing and so are many rural areas. As a result, demands for municipal and industrial water supplies are growing. There is also a rising awareness of "quality of life" issues and concern for environmental values and related water uses. These and other changes help ensure a future where water will continue to be a primary constraint and source of conflict and controversy in the region. Periodic drought serves to remind us that water is precious. It is imperative that we address drought in a careful and systematic manner, trying to anticipate and resolve problems and conflicts as they evolve and before they reach crisis proportions.
Drought has been an important catalyst for increasingly careful management of available water resources as new supplies are developed and water use becomes more efficient. However, an ever increasing population, shifting demands and changing trends and water use patterns, still stress existing systems' capacities and resiliency. The West is inescapably vulnerable to drought. In recent decades, the West has experienced a number of damaging and costly droughts, both economically and environmentally. Drought events reoccur in cycles. They vary in duration and intensity. The impacts can be very different. While unpredictable, droughts can be anticipated. With careful planning and management, losses can be minimized.
Recent WGA Efforts
In response to the current serious drought in the Southwest and the recurring threat of drought throughout the rest of the West, the Western Governors' Association (WGA) adopted a resolution that was sponsored by Governor Johnson of New Mexico on June 24, 1996 (96-03). The resolution states, "The western governors believe that a comprehensive, integrated response to drought emergencies is critical...[and that] it is important to work together and cooperatively with other affected entities to plan for and implement measures that will provide relief from the current drought and prepare for future drought emergencies."
The governors also created a WGA Drought Task Force charged with: (1) "coordinating the drought response needs of the states by immediately identifying barriers to effective response at the federal level...;" (2) "working with existing state, federal and private entities to develop criteria for assessing various stages of drought and corresponding emergency response measures and mutual assistance;" and (3) "sharing of solutions and relief measures that can be implemented within our own states and localities." The Western States Water Council (WSWC) is assisting with this work.
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A task force meeting was held on September 5-6 in Austin, Texas to further refine the issues and to make assignments for work groups to develop draft reports and recommendations. Following review and comment, these draft recommendations will be summarized and presented to the governors for their consideration and action at their WGA Winter Meeting in Austin, Texas on November 21-22, 1996.
Historical Overview
Drought is a normal part of the climate for virtually all regions of the United States, but it is of particular concern in the West, where any interruption of the region's already limited water supplies over extended periods of time can produce devastating impacts. Records indicate that drought occurs somewhere in the West almost every year. However, it is multi-year drought events that are of the greatest concern to water planners, natural resource managers, and government policymakers. Severe multi-year droughts that plagued the region during the 1930s and 1950s are now a distant memory for most. The recurrence of such drought events today would result in much greater and more varied impacts, because of the rapid expansion of demand due to the region's population growth and urbanization and the increasing value placed on environmental uses of water over the past decades.
No portion of the West is immune to the effects of drought. An analysis of Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) values for the past 100 years indicates that droughts of severe to extreme intensity occurred over nearly all portions of the region 10% of the time. Some climatic divisions in Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming experienced severe to extreme drought more than 15% of the time. A similar analysis for the ten year period from 1985-1995 reveals large portions of the Great Basin, interior Pacific Northwest, and northern Great Plains states (especially North Dakota) experienced severe to extreme drought more than 20% of the time. In fact, some portions of California, Idaho, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming experienced severe to extreme drought more than 30% of the time. Ironically, much of the Southwest and southern Great Plains states, the precise areas most affected by drought in 1995-1996, have had little experience with severe to extreme drought over the past decade -- less than 10% of the time in most of Arizona and western New Mexico and not at all in eastern New Mexico, most of Texas, and Oklahoma.
The lack of recent experience with drought in these areas has no doubt contributed to a lack of preparation and planning and mounting economic losses. Other parts of the West where drought events have occurred more frequently have developed a greater institutional capacity for anticipating and managing droughts.
The extreme and intense drought of 1976-77, though it didn't last long, demonstrated many water system's vulnerability to water shortages due to drought. Water supplies in the usually
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humid Pacific Northwest, California and other portions of the region were under stress. After the end of the drought, additional dams and reservoirs with millions of acre feet of new surface water storage were constructed and many smaller rehabilitation and improvement projects were undertaken to ensure the reliability of large and small water supply systems. These additional measures helped reduce, but have not eliminated, our vulnerability to periodic shortages due to drought (again given significant and continuing growth).
This became apparent during the drought that afflicted large portions of the region from 1986 to 1993 (give or take a year or so). In 1994, drought conditions continued in California, the Pacific Northwest, and the Great Basin states. Some parts of the West experienced six or seven consecutive years of drought. While not as extreme and intense as the drought of 1976-77, the duration of the drought again stressed many systems. Moreover, when rains returned to some afflicted areas, they simultaneously seemed to stop in others. Drought is a "drifter," continually on the move around the West.
The current drought of 1995-1996, affecting the southwestern and southern Great Plains states of Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and parts of Colorado and Utah, is characterized as one of the worst in a century in these areas. It has caused significant impacts in agriculture and forestry and resulted in depleted reservoirs, increased ground water pumping, interruptions of public water supplies, and reduced recreational opportunities and tourism. The environmental and social impacts are significant, particularly the tremendous increase in forest and range fires, soil erosion, and adverse effects on fish and wildlife populations.
Past WGA/WSWC Initiatives
The Western Governors' Association (and its predecessors) and the Western States Water Council have long been actively involved in state drought planning, response and management. During the 1976-77 drought, Colorado Governor Richard Lamm chaired a Western Regional Drought Action Task Force, made up of representatives from 21 states and several federal agencies. It met regularly to assess drought-related needs and suggest appropriate legislative and administrative action. The WSWC and a White House representative staffed the task force. Afterwards, the governors recommended that states "pre-package" drought response plans. (1)
In 1986, a WSWC review of state authority for drought response and planning found that five states had specific documents. Further, many other ongoing state programs were useful during
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drought. Using the past experience of these states, in 1987 the Council prepared a model drought response plan for each state to adapt to their own specific needs.
Again, in 1990, under the direction of western governors, the WSWC prepared an updated review of state drought response authority and capabilities, as they related to water management. This was presented in the form one-page state-by-state summaries and a matrix comparing states' authorities and capabilities (3). In 1990, the WGA also prepared a summary of available federal drought-related assistance programs (4).
At the present time eleven western states have state drought contingency plans: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah and Washington. California delegates drought planning to local authorities. Oklahoma and Texas are in the process of developing long-term plans. New Mexico is seeking authority for funding.
The Role of Government
Most state plans include some type of a response and coordination group or drought management task force. State plans vary by degrees of complexity. They are designed to meet emergency needs and address emergency drought-related problems, emphasizing actions to preserve lives, ensure public safety and health, and protect property and the environment. They can pay great dividends by quickly and effectively addressing myriad of economic and environmental problems caused by drought. However, it is important to note that most state drought plans are largely drought "response" plans, as opposed to drought "mitigation" plans. Some states have recognized the importance of pre-planning for drought and have started the process to improve their plans. With vulnerability to extended periods of drought increasing, it is critical that preparation and mitigation be given greater emphasis in existing plans.
Drought response is primarily an individual responsibility, to be followed by local cooperative action. However, when the effects of drought overwhelm these resources, a timely and effective state government response can minimize losses. Therefore, states must anticipate and prepare for drought. To the extent they can, states should provide as much manpower and monetary support as is possible in the areas affected. However, the magnitude of the current drought, particularly agricultural and associated industry losses, again has pointed out that deficiencies in state plans
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and resources do exist. If properly identified and evaluated, they can be dealt with in a well organized and cost-effective manner in cooperation with, and with the support of, the federal government. Appropriate federal agencies must also be able to provide timely assistance. However, at present, there is no national drought response plan or policy.
State Drought Response Capabilities
Each state has general response authority under emergency management acts. Further, every western state has some type of water code and issues water use permits. Again, many western states now have specific drought response plans, and more have some response authority, but no specific plan. Most western states encourage water conservation through different programs which may be particularly useful during drought. A majority of western states have water development programs to help provide long-range drought protection. Several states may require local drought or water supply contingency plans.
In the West, the appropriation doctrine provides a well-established means of addressing water shortages and allocating surface and ground water in the West. Water scarcity is common, and drought is not unusual. Several states' statutes establish water use preferences which serve as a guide to resolving competing demands, but even then the dominant principal is "first in time, first in right." During drought, the certainty western water law provides is particularly important. Well-defined water rights are more easily leased or transferred. Several states have statutory or administrative authority to expedite water use permitting and transfers during drought. Moreover, a number of states have enacted legislation or adopted administrative policies specifically designed to encourage water banking and water marketing. The artificial enhancement of natural recharge to store surplus surface waters in aquifers for use during drought is growing.
Several states have defined drought and the circumstances which should trigger state response action. Many states have established some type of early warning system to monitor water supply conditions. Some have named a drought coordinator and more have designated a lead state agency. A majority have at some time created and utilized a drought response center and defined state agency responsibilities. Only a few states have actually inventoried resources available to respond to drought and established priorities among water uses and needs. Several states have organized task forces to address impacts in specific sectors, such as agriculture or wildfire. A number of states have developed specific action plans for various sectors. Action plans refer to a list of specific things to do to address various drought-related impacts. Most states do have some type of public information and water education program that can be used during drought.
Unfortunately, during the interval between droughts, response plans usually sit idle and rapidly become outdated. Few states have an ongoing mechanism or forum for state and local coordination and collaboration with federal agencies. Limited funding and manpower are major
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constraints on state drought planning, response and management. Further, there is no national or regional governmental forum dedicated solely to addressing problems related to drought. Many of the lessons from past experience with drought have to be learned repeatedly.
ENDNOTES
1.Western Governors' Policy Office (WESTPO), Managing Resource Scarcity: Lessons from the Mid-70's Drought, 1978.
2. Western States Water Council, Western State Drought Management, 1986.
3. Western States Water Council, State Drought Response Capabilities: A Regional Perspective, 1990.
4. Western Governors' Association, Federal Water-Related Drought Response Programs, February 1990.