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2 ~'"'' "'~' HYDROLOGIC AND HUMAN ASPECTS OF THE 1976-77 DROUGHT o ~.OQ~~ ",'~ lIAWAII D ALASKA (19) HAWAII (20) ED....... . ",'", ......... ~ Regions with major drought effects Regions with limited drought effects ~~~~~i Regions with localized drought effllcts o 200400 600 800 KILOMETERS II I I I I I I I o 200 4QOMILES EXPLANATION = No drought Wutl.lr Resources Regiom Figure 1. Map of United States showing regions designated by Water Resources Council. stances that affected the well being of individ- uals or the responsibilities of public entities; therefore, legal actions were instituted that sought redress for losses related to the drought, and hearings were held to discuss interpretations of existing regulations and pos- sible modifications of them. Some specific examples are given in the section, "Legal Aspects." The Water Resources Council has divided the United States into 21 regions (fig. 1) which are major river basins or groups of river basins. Of the 21 regions, 18 were affected by the drought to some degree. The drought had minor effects in regions 05, 06, 12, 13, 15, and 21, and only localized effects in regions 02 and 03. The chronology of the drought and its ef- fects are described in detail for 10 WRC re- gions, by region, and in general for the other 11 WRC regions later in this report. The re- gions affected by the drought are identified in figure 1. How people and agencies adapted to the drought and the beginnings of the recovery from the drought are also described. The report concludes with a section, "A Look to the Future." The drought of 1976-77 caught many people in a state of complacency with respect to water supply and water use, but the problems encountered and the plans made to overcome them provided a valuable learning experience. Several plans have been proposed and others are in preparation to create means by which people can cope with a drought in the future in an orderly and less costly manner. Actions taken in response to such a crisis, whether locally or nationally, are not very efficient and often too late. The spring of 1978 is too early to know how many plans will be adopted and implemented, and another drought period will be needed before the success of plans can be evaluated. The information in this report was obtained from numerous Federal, State, county, and municipal agencies, public utilities, the news media, and private individuals. The offices of the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, provided data and information.