WSP08775

• File Number: 8056
• Description: Drought Preparedness
• State: CO
• Basin: Statewide
• Date: 1/1/1979
• Author: USGS
• Title: Hydrologic and Human aspects of the 1976-77 Drought
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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CHRONOLOGY OF THE 1976-77 DROUGHT

41

tent flow occurred on a few days a month from
May through September 1977. Previous peri-
ods of no flow were a few days in 1954, 1956,
and 1974, 44 days in 1946, 61 days in 1903, and
86 days in 1975.
Intermittent streams in Missouri went dry
earlier than usual, some in May 1977. Flows in
other Missouri streams were generally below
normal.
Lake McKinney is an offstream reservoir
west of Garden City, Kans., that receives
water from the Arkansas River. It had been
dry for short periods before 1977, but it dried
up early in May 1977 and stayed dry for about
1 year.

Ground-water Conditions

The most serious problems related to
ground water occurred in southwestern Kansas.
Because the winter of 1976-77 was dry, soil
moisture was low; and farmers began irrigating
early in March 1977. This drain on the
aquifers followed an average water-level de-
cline of 5 ft in 1976. Water levels continued
to decline until May 1977 when rains reduced
the need to pump ground water. Steady
conditions lasted about 1 month when renewed
pumping started another decline so that by
July 1 new record low water levels were
established. High temperatures and strong
winds made irrigation imperative, and the
downward trend continued into the fall of
1977. The average decline in 1977 was 3.7 ft.
The downward trend indicates that the mining
of ground water in southwestern Kansas con-
tinues. Sum mer rains in eastern Kansas
brought water levels up slightly.

Water Quality

Some pumps east of Lake McKinney in
south-western Kansas were damaged by elec-
trolysis. One explanation is that highly min-
eralized water from the Arkansas River that
had been stored in Lake McKinney leaked into
the underlying aquifer and affected the quality
of the ground water.
Fairly heavy rains in May 1977 at several
locations in Kansas caused the first rise in
several months on streams. High concentra-
tions of dissolved solids and organics were
present for short intervals, and eroding stream
banks were factors locally. The overall effect

r'

of the drought on stream water quality was
minimal.
Though there was a large overdraft of
ground water in western Kansas, no widespread
effect on ground-water quality was reported.

Activities Resulting from the Drought

The severity of the drought in Missouri
varied continuously, both in time and from
place to place, but several towns started
investigations of possible nearby water sources
to supplement their diminishing supplies.
The dwindling ground-water supply in west-
ern Kansas was the reason that the Kansas
State Board of Agriculture imposed a mora-
torium on new wells near the Arkansas River
in two counties west of Garden City. A better
definition of the stream-aquifer system is pro-
posed before the moratorium is rescinded.
Natural gas is the energy source used for
many irrigation pumps in Kansas. The combi-
nation of higher prices for natural gas, the in-
creased pumping required because of the
drought, and declining farm prices caused eco-
nomic hardships.
A few towns in eastern Kansas had to haul
water or install pipelines from other sources of
water as short-term emergency measures.
Cloud seeding was done in western Kansas
in July and August 1977. Seeding was done
three times during a week in August, but
results were uncertain as rain fell that week
over most of the State.
Disaster designations were obtained by 82
counties in 5 States.

Upper Colorado--WRC Region 14

The Upper Colorado Region (fig. 16) con-
sists of western Colorado, eastern Utah, the
Green River basin in Wyoming, and small parts
of Arizona and New Mexico near the Four
Corners area. The division point between the
upper and lower Colorado River basins is 1.0
mi downstream from the Paria River near Lees
Ferry, Ariz.
A digest of the description of the drought
of 1976-77 in the Upper Colorado Region
follows.
The deficiency of precipitation did not be-
come widespread until September 1976. Pre-
cipitation continued to be deficient most of
the time during the next 9 months. The water