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J'jj'324 HYDROLOGIC AND HUMAN ASPECTS OF THE 1976-77 DROUGHT By Howard F. Matthai ABSTRACT The drought of 1976-77 was the most severe one in at least 50 years in many parts of the United States. Record low amounts of rainfall, snowfall, and runoff, and increased withdrawals of ground water were prevalent. The use of carry-over storage in reservoirs during 1976 maintained streamflow at near normal levels, but some reservoirs went dry or dropped below the outlet works in 1977. Carry-over storage in the fall of 1977 was very low. Ground-water levels were at or near record low levels in many aquifers, hundreds of wells went dry, and thousands of wells were drilled. Yet no wide-spread deterioration of ground- water quality was reported. Water-quality problems arose in some streams and lakes, but most were localized and of short duration. Water rationing became a way of life in nu- merous areas, and water was hauled in many rural areas and to a few towns. Water use was affected by legal agreements or decisions, some of which were modified for the duration of the drought, and by the inability of water managers to efficiently manage surface and ground waters as one resource under existing law. There are still many drought related prob- lems to solve and many challenges to be met before the next drought occurs. The advance- ment of techniques in many fields of endeavor in recent years plus ongoing, planned, and pro- posed research on drought and the risks in- volved are promising thrusts that should make it easier to cope with the next drought. INTRODUCTION A drought is primarily a natural event, but the consequences can be significantly altered by humans. The United States and other parts of the world have been afflicted intermittently by droughts from time immemorial; and one of them, a severe one, occurred in many parts of the United States in 1976 and 1977. By the late winter of 1977-78, enough rain and snow had fallen over much of the drought areas that the drought was considered by many people to be over. The wet period, however, may be only a brief interruption in an extended dry period. Historical records show that a wet period or year has occurred in the midst of a number of dry periods or years and, converse- ly, that dry years have occurred among groups of wet ones. This report was prepared to document the drought of 1976-77 in the United States as a hydrologic event, how it affected humans, and how they reacted to it. Whether this report is a final report or an interim one depends mainly upon the weather in the future. Many people have rather short memories in relation to droughts in the past, some have vivid recollections of experiences in their younger days, and a few have such active imaginations that their stories about past events have little relation to reality. To put the 1976-77 drought into context, several brief descriptions of previous droughts are included herein. The descriptions plus the references cited should give the reader some perspective on the latest drought. Because there is a wide range in the fact- ors related to climate, hydrology, topography, water use, and legal and economic conditions over the Ullited States, some of the complex interrelations of these factors as they affect the drought or help to describe it are present- ed in the section, "Drought and its Ramifica- tions." The impacts of the drought on people are presented in a general way because many of them were similar. There was also a similarity in the actions taken by people ill response to the drought. Legal actions are quite prevalent if not al- most customary in today's civilization. Drought-related activities provided circum- 1