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<br />CHRONOLOGY OF THE 1976-77 DROUGHT
<br />
<br />53
<br />
<br />Activities Resulting from the Drought
<br />
<br />Water restrictions were imposed by a num-
<br />ber of cities or water distribution companies.
<br />In Utah, most of the restrictions were in
<br />effect only for 2 or 3 months starting in May
<br />1977. Residential water use for lawn water-
<br />ing, car washing, and so forth was banned
<br />during most of the daylight hours and was
<br />allowed only every other day. Most of the
<br />quotas per residence ranged from 17,000 gal to
<br />33,000 gal per month. These were quite
<br />liberal, but the fines for exceeding the quota
<br />were steep, $10 per 1,000 gal. In Provo, south
<br />of Salt Lake City, Utah, violators were guilty
<br />of a misdemeanor and subject to a maximum
<br />fine of $299 and 30 days in jail, Customers in
<br />Salt Lake County who did not pay fines faced
<br />disconnection and a $50 charge to reconnect.
<br />Water rates were raised in some areas. The
<br />conservation measures were effective, and
<br />residential water use was reduced 20 to 35
<br />percent. Rations for businesses were usually
<br />set at 75 percent of the use in 1976, and at 50
<br />percent for irrigation.
<br />The Governor of Utah appointed a State
<br />Drought Relief Committee that approved
<br />$300,000 of special funds mainly to drill and
<br />equip wells at 14 locations in nine counties.
<br />The committee also approved loans totaling
<br />$240,000 to provide emergency water for live-
<br />stock. The loans were for wells, pumps, and
<br />pipelines, Irrigation water use was reduced
<br />because some farmers kept part of their land
<br />out of production.
<br />Recreational activities were restricted at
<br />some reservoirs because of low water levels,
<br />but most of the problems were mainly a
<br />matter of some inconvenience or a nuisance.
<br />Disaster designation was approved for 33
<br />counties in the region,
<br />
<br />Pacific Northwest-WRC Region 17
<br />
<br />The Pacific Northwest Region (fig, 20) is
<br />that part of the Columbia River basin in the
<br />United States plus the coastal streams of
<br />Oregon and Washington, and the closed basins
<br />in southeastern Oregon. The water supply of
<br />the entire region is highly dependent upon the
<br />precipitation, mainly as snow, in the mountain
<br />ranges from the Olympics of Washington and
<br />the Cascades of Oregon and Washington to the
<br />
<br />Rocky Mountains of Idaho, Montana, and Wy-
<br />oming, Therefore, a subnormal snowpack, such
<br />as that which occurred in the winter of 1976-
<br />77, introduces a severe stress on all activities
<br />requiring water.
<br />A brief description of the 1976-77 drought
<br />follows:
<br />The drought in the Pacific Northwest did
<br />not develop until the winter of 1976-77 when
<br />precipitation was well below normal. The
<br />record low water content of the snowpack was
<br />the main factor that caused the runoff in 1977
<br />of the Columbia River at The Dalles, Ore"
<br />adjusted for storage, to be the lowest since
<br />1879. Annual flows were record low at other
<br />long-term gaging stations.
<br />Most declines of ground-water levels were
<br />less than 10 ft, but as much as 25 ft occurred
<br />in Idaho. Adverse water-quality effects were
<br />minimal and temporary. Higher water temper-
<br />atures caused fish kills in Idaho and Washing-
<br />ton.
<br />A special effort was planned and carried
<br />out to help preserve the juvenile fish, electric
<br />power deliveries to selected users were re-
<br />duced, and water rationing was necessary in
<br />only a few towns, though some water tanks
<br />were installed to help small communities over
<br />the water shortage.
<br />
<br />Previous Droughts
<br />
<br />Evidence indicates that a prolonged
<br />drought occurred in part of the region during
<br />some undetermined period in the past. Free-
<br />man (1929) found yellow pine stumps in Gran-
<br />ite Lake, Williams Lake, and several other
<br />lakes southwest of Spokane, Wash., when the
<br />lake levels receded in 1926 to the lowest levels
<br />known in at least 60 years, The stumps had
<br />over 100 tree rings, and yellow pine needs a
<br />well-drained soil in which to grow, Therefore,
<br />Freeman concluded that at least the Columbia
<br />Plateau was affected by a drought period
<br />lasting more than a century.
<br />Also, Goose, Malheur, and Harney Lakes in
<br />southeastern Oregon were at very low levels in
<br />1926, and well-defined wagon ruts were found
<br />in the dried bed of Goose Lake. Presumably
<br />the ruts were made by pioneer wagons in the
<br />1840's as they followed the Applegate Trail
<br />which crossed the dry lake bed south of the
<br />small lake that existed at that time, This
<br />information implies that drought conditions
<br />
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