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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SUMMARY

77

sary to preserve enough space for flood control
if needed later in 1978 at a few sites in
California, Oregon, and Washington.
Ground-water levels, particularly in Cali-
fornia, were still below average; and more
than a few months' time is needed for ground-
water levels to respond to normal or above
normal precipitation and runoff,
Water rationing has been abandoned in
most locations, but many water rates are
higher than they were before the drought.
Looking back on the drought, its impacts,
and the adaptations made, a very brief sum-
mary of an important human aspect in relation
to the drought is contained in a statement that
someone made that did not characterize the
drought, per se, but expressed a view of the
overall conditions very well. The statement is
"The year 1977 can be remembered as the year
of cooperation and compromise."

SUMMARY

Preparation of a summary of the drought of
1976-77 is analogous to picking up mercury
with one's fingers. There were so many
aspects that changed with time and location,
that an adequate summary would be overlong;
therefore, this summary will include only the
more important aspects of the drought.
The brunt of the drought was felt in both or
parts of 1976 and 1977 over large parts of the
United States; however, drought effects began
to develop in the Midwest in 1974. The record
low amounts of precipitation in many localities
and the longer than usual intervals between
rains seriously affected non-irrigated crops,
yet in a number of areas enough rain fell at
the right time during the growing season to
produce respectable crop yields, The record
low snowpacks, particularly in the Sierras in
California, and in the Cascades in the Pacific
Northwest and the Rocky Mountains caused
record low runoff in many western streams.
The use of carry-over storage in reservoirs
cushioned the impact in 1976, but surface-
water supplies were insufficient to meet all
demands in 1977,
The very cold winter of 1976-77 in most of
the eastern part of the country compounded
the problems. All these factors made the
drought of 1976-77 the most severe one in at
least 50 years in many parts of the country,

Ground-water level declines greater than
those in earlier years occurred in many area as
ground water was used to supplement the
dwindling surface-water supplies, Wells went
dry, yields diminished, and thousands of new
wells were drilled. Despite the added stresses
on the aquifers, very few serious water-quality
problems arose. The increased withdrawals of
ground water in the San Joaquin Valley of
California brought on a renewal of land subsi-
dence.
Most water-quality problems were local-
ized and of relatively short duration. Some
were anticipated and other were not, Though
water in storage was in short supply, there was
enough flexibility in most water development
systems that additional releases from reser-
voirs were made to dilute or flush stream
reaches to reduce or eliminate any degradation
in water quality that became serious,
Water rationing was common in all areas
except in the Pacific Northwest where only a
few towns introduced rationing. Trucking of
water to users and trucking of cattle to water
occurred in many States. Legal constraints on
water use were modified on temporary bases
to provide more water where and when it was
needed. Emergency funds were made available
to truck cattle or for pumps, pipes, and equip-
ment for emergency water supplies. The
public was educated by various agencies and
the media on the seriousness of the drought
and on how to conserve water.
The water systems constructed since the
"Dust Bowl Days" of the 1930's, the develop-
ment of better machinery, better strains of
corn, wheat and other crops, better manage-
ment of irrigation water, and better farming
practices contributed to reducing the adverse
impacts upon people during the drought of
1976-77 as compared to earlier droughts.
The cooperation of agencies and individuals
at all levels of government and in the public
sector to alleviate drought related problems
was encouraging in spite of some unsucessful
efforts. The outlook for coping with a drought
in the future is an optimistic one.

A LOOK TO THE FUTURE

The writer does not claim any abilities to
predict droughts in the future, though the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admini-
stration has reported (Upper Mississippi River