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14 ~' :'""., HYDROLOGIC AND HUMAN ASPECTS OF THE 1976-77 DROUGHT their crops were not seriously injured. Some, who used ground water for irrigation, had wells that were drawing water from aquifers that had not been affected yet by the drought; so their water supplies were not curtailed. Troxell (1957) stated that economic factors often are what determine the existence of a drought. In other words, as long as water is available no matter what the source there is no drought. But when crops do not mature, livestock is undernourished, land values de- crease, supplies run short, or unemployment increases, then people adm it that a drought exists. Many people lived in a drought area who were not directly affected by drought because water was not rationed nor were their usual activities changed; therefore, the drought was an abstraction to them. Because a drought produces effects in a scatter or random pat- tern, it is difficult to recognize its existence. Therefore, any definition other than one in very general terms is too restrictive. Also, too many people react to a drought in the manner exemplified by the following flow chart. DROUGHT AWARENESS CONCERN PANIC RAIN APATHY Adapted from O. H. Foehner (1977) When this happens, planning for the future, approval of financing, and providing facilities to alleviate anomalous drought conditions in the future are impeded. IMPACTS ON PEOPLE "When droughts have occurred in the past, there have been few intelligent plans of ac- tion. Actions during a drought often can be characterized as too little and too late, if not actually counterproductive. While droughts cannot be forecast, their effects can be anti- cipated." The preceding statement was made in June 1978 by the Office of Science and Technology Policy in its report to the Presi- dent's Committee for the Water Resources Policy Study. Some of the effects that can be anticipated and a few that could not are dis- cussed in general terms in this section. De- tailed information is presented in subsequent sections of this report. Public Water Supplies Water for domestic, commercial, and in- dustrial uses in the United States under normal conditions was withdrawn at the rate of 168 gal/d (gallons per day) per individual served in 1975. About 175 million people are served by public-supply systems nationwide. In states af- fected by the drought in 1976-77 normal with- drawals ranged from 119 gal/d per individual served in Virginia to 331 gal/d per individual served in Utah (Murray and Reeves, 1977). The 168 gal/d per individual served is an increase of 16 percent over the use in 1950, about the midpoint of the last drought in the southwest. And the number of individuals served has increased from 93.5 million to 175 million. Therefore, the demand for public water supplies has doubled in 25 years from 14 bgd (biilion gallons per day) to 29 bgd. In- creased stresses of this magnitude on the available water supplies and distribution sys- tems could cause water shortages locally even during nondrought periods. Then when a severe drought does occur, the problems faced by the public are compounded. Though the drought started during 1976 in California, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and Colorado, public water supplies were not seriously affected until later. Supplemental supplies from wells and the use of carryover