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76 ,'":'-IH'''"'c.. ,...-, HYDROLOGIC AND HUMAN ASPECTS OF THE 1976-77 DROUGHT low. Restrictions on water use were in effect during the late summer of 1977 mainly in northern Virginia, In the summer of 1977, the drought severely stressed the water-storage facilities of a few municipalities in eastern North Carolina where the facilities were known to be marginal, before the drought. Restrictions on water use were imposed and the water short- age at Chapel Hill in north-central North Carolina was severe, The city of Raleigh completed a 3.4 billion gallon auxiliary reser- voir late in 1976 which filled during the winter and prevented a recurrence of the water shortages' of 1976. Orange County which includes Chapel Hill formed a water and sewer authority to plan long-term solutions to their water supply problems, In the meantime, they planned on auxiliary supplies from new wells and possibly a pipeline from the Haw River, The North Carolina Department of Natural Resources and Community Development evalu- ated the adequacy of water supplies statewide, Farmens in Georgia who raised soybeans, peanuts, and other crops became interested in irrigation for the first time in more than 20 years because rainfall was deficient and there were intervals bet ween rains extending to 8 weeks. The farmers who suffered financial setbacks in 1977 because of the drought plan- ned significant capital outlays for irrigation systems to prevent a similar setback in the future, Pecan, corn, peanut, and soybean pro- duction was affected by the drought more than the tobacco and cotton crops. Hay was cut early in 1977, but none later in the season because the pastures burned up for lack of rain. Army worms infested corn in Georgia and Alabama. Some water for irrigation was obtained by draining farm fish ponds, but this impaired the raising of fish for food. One farmer attended so many fish fries that he lost his appetite for fish! The drought in Puerto Rico started in March 1977 and ended in October 1977, but it was not much different than the drought in 1974. Water rationing began on April 14 on a voluntary basis, became mandatory on June 17, ended in some are 'IS in August and the rest in October. ,Rationing was accomplished in a different manner; namely, by the public utility shutting off all supplies between 9 p.m. and 6 a,m, except to vital service units. The local people adjusted to drought conditions since they have had to in the past, but the tourists had problems. Cattlemen's costs rose when they had to buy feed for their cattle because the pastures dried up. The Virgin Island's main water supply is desalinized water; therefore, the impact of the drought was felt mostly in the rural areas. Pastures dried out, and cattlemen had to buy feed for their stock. Farmers in the Middle Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico received water from the Colorado River basin through the San Juan-Chama Pro- ject, thus averting serious effects from the deficient precipitation, Several municipalities instituted mandatory water conservation prac- tices and limited water use, Many counties in most of the States were declared disaster areas. Epilogue The drought of 1976-77 may be over or it may be only interrupted. Precipitation be- tween September 1977 and January 1978 was above normal in most of the western United States, A few ski resorts had operational problems caused by snow depths up to 150 percent of normal for January, and very stormy conditions closed mountain highways and airports. However, the wet period that began in September 1977 ended about mid-January 1978 along most of the west coast when the high pressure system moved northward and just off the coast forcing the storm paths to bypass the area to the north, The more northerly storm path brought cold arctic air into the Midwest causing blizzards and very cold weather-a partial repeat of the severe winter of 1976-77. Since January 1978 precipitation has been generally above normal, and drought conditions have almost disappeared. The fall and winter rains of 1977-78 were welcome events, The persistence and, at times, the intensity of the precipitation were sufficient to increase streamflows into the normal or above normal regimes, The runoff replenished nearly depleted supplies in reser- voirs, For example: Storage in 10 of the larger reservoirs in California increased by 3.3 million acre-ft in January 1978. The water content of the heavy snowpack was enough to make releases of recently stored water neces-