Planning for Drought

The Basics of Drought Planning: A 10-Step Process

Step 4: Identify Resources and Identify Groups at Risk

An inventory of natural, biological, and human resources, including the identification of constraints that may impede the planning process, may need to be initiated by the task force. In most states in the United States, much information already exists about natural and biological resources through various state and federal agencies. It is important to determine the vulnerability of these resources to periods of water shortage that result from drought. The most obvious natural resource of importance is water: where is it located, how accessible is it, of what quality is it? Biological resources refer to the quantity and quality of grasslands/rangelands, forests, wildlife, and so forth. Human resources include the labor needed to develop water resources, lay pipeline, haul water and livestock feed, process citizen complaints, provide technical assistance, and direct citizens to available services.

It is also imperative to identify constraints to the planning process and to the activation of the plan in response to a developing drought. These constraints may be physical, financial, legal, or political. The costs associated with the development of a plan must be weighed against the losses that will likely result if no plan is in place. The purpose of a drought plan is to reduce risk and therefore economic, social, and environmental impacts. Generally speaking, the costs associated with the development of a state-level plan have been $50,000-$100,000, plus in-kind costs to state and federal agencies. This price tag seems inconsequential in comparison to the impacts associated with drought. Legal constraints can include water rights, existing public trust laws, requirements for public water suppliers, liability issues, and so forth.

In drought planning, making the transition from crisis to risk management is difficult because, historically, little has been done to understand and address the risks associated with drought. To solve this problem, areas of high risk should be identified, as should actions that can be taken before a drought occurs to reduce those risks. Risk is defined by both the exposure of a location to the drought hazard and the vulnerability of that location to periods of drought-induced water shortages (Blaikie et al., 1994). Drought is a natural event; it is important to define the exposure (i.e., frequency of drought of various intensities and durations) of various parts of the state to the drought hazard. Some areas are likely to be more at risk than others. Vulnerability, on the other hand, is defined by social factors such as land use patterns, government policies, social behavior, water use, population, economic development, diversity of economic base, cultural composition, and so forth. The drought task force should address these issues early in the planning process so they can provide more direction to the committees and working groups that will be developed under Step 5 of the planning process.

On to Step 5
Back to the 10-Step Process