Why We Plan for Drought

When a disaster like a hurricane or a flood strikes, it's easy to see the damage it causes. Because that damage can be devastating and expensive, governments (federal, state, and local) have created disaster plans so that people can cope with and recover from the disaster as soon as possible. Most of these plans also include actions that we can take before a disaster strikes. For example, in parts of the country that are prone to earthquakes, building codes may require houses and other buildings to have extra reinforcements that would allow the structure to better withstand the effects of an earthquake.

When a drought occurs, we don't always see the damage, and we don't see it right away. But drought's impacts can be just as costly and devastating as the impacts of any other disaster (see, for example, the NDMC's comparison of drought, flood, and hurricane impacts). Farmers, who need adequate water to grow crops and raise livestock, often feel the effects of drought first, but drought also affects people in many other occupations, like marina operators and water company employees. That's why it's important to plan for drought, with actions to take before, during, and after a drought event.

Many states and cities in the United States have drought plans, and the federal government is working on legislation to create a national drought policy, but it wasn't always that way. In fact, before the 1930s, it was private organizations and charities, not government, that gave aid to people affected by droughts. Many of the pioneers who settled the American West in the mid to late 19th century couldn't cope with the frequent droughts. The climate of the West was new and strange to these settlers, and most of them had very little money, so when their crops were destroyed or their water supplies dried up, they needed help. Because the government did not consider drought relief its responsibility, private charities provided as much aid as they could. But in the 1930s, when severe drought and economic depression occurred at the same time, charity organizations could not raise enough money to help those affected, and for the first time, the federal government became responsible for drought relief. During the Roosevelt Administration, government officials developed many short-term measures to help people cope with and recover from drought, but they also created some long-term programs, like the Soil Conservation Service, to help reduce the risks from future droughts by protecting soils from erosion. When severe droughts affected the Great Plains in the 1950s, the government once again used many short-term measures but also created several long-term programs.

As the number of drought relief programs grew, it became more difficult and costly to run them. After droughts during the 1970s and 1980s, some government officials began to call for a national drought plan, with greater emphasis on planning ahead for drought rather than just reacting when drought occurs. The cost of droughts in the United States has been estimated at $6–8 billion every year, and in some drought years, the cost can be much higher—for example, drought losses in 1988 alone have been estimated at about $39 billion. And in 2002, almost every state in the United States was affected by drought. Some of the effects of this drought were losses to farmers and ranchers, water supply problems for cities and towns, and wildfires. To help keep these costs down, many state and local groups have drought plans. For example, a local drought plan might be concerned with making sure the local area has enough drinking water at all times. It might include an inventory of the area's water supplies and equipment, and it might contain detailed instructions for responding to water shortages, such as how to tell if an area is having a water shortage and whether (and when) water rationing is necessary. Having such a plan makes it much easier (and less expensive) for the locality to respond to a drought quickly, rather than having to find solutions to a water problem in a hurry. In the last 20 years, many U.S. states have created their own drought plans. The earliest plans were focused on steps that could be taken after a drought had already occurred, but lately, a growing number of states have revised or written their drought plans to include actions to take before a drought. Nebraska and New Mexico are two such states; many other states also have drought plans (see map).

In 2002, Congress began to consider creating a national drought plan. The National Drought Preparedness Act (H.R. 4754) was introduced into the Congress by politicians who hoped to improve the way we respond to and plan for drought. The bill calls for the United States to create a national drought policy that encourages preparing for drought rather than waiting for drought to happen. The bill also calls for improving the drought programs we already have and improving our methods of tracking drought. Congress did not act on the bill in 2002, so the bill was re-introduced in July 2003.