FLOOD10398

• County: Statewide
• Basin: Statewide
• Title: The Colorado Drought Mitigation and Response Plan
• Date: 1/1/2002
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Educational/Technical/Reference Information

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TIlE COlORAdo DRouGln MiTiGATioN ANd RESpONSE PIAN

The agricultural business suffered severely during the
drought of the 1930s, The situation was exacerbated
by poor farming techniques, low market prices, and a
depressed economy which caused many to migrate
away from farming. At the same time, progress was
made toward improving the situation: better agricultural
management; establishment of insurance programs;
liberalization of credit; and diversification of the regional
economy, Other improvements included irrigation; the
planting of trees for wind breaks to mitigate soil erosion;
and air conditioned tractors to keep dust from the
operator. These adjustments moderated the drought in
the early 1950s, Impacts were much less severe,
although climatological conditions were not that
different from those of the dust bowl era.

The drought of 1976-77 was essentially a winter event
and was not long in duration, However, it was the driest
winter in recorded history for much of Colorado's high
country and western slope, and had serious conse-
quences for the ski industry, Another drought that
began in the fall of 1980 and lasted until the summer of
1981 also generated costly impacts on the ski industry
and initiated a huge investment in snow making
equipment (Mckee, Doesken, and Kleist, 1999), This
was the last severe and widespread drought to affect
Colorado,

Since 1981, Colorado has seen a sustained overall wet
period, A few localized exceptions include a significant,
but brief drought in southwest Colorado from 1989 to
1990; a growing season drought in 1994 in northeast
Colorado; and a localized drought in southwest Colorado
from late 1995 into 1996. La Nina influenced weather
patterns in the winter of 1999, leaving the statewide
snowpack abnormally low in the spring. While many parts
of the country were experiencing drought conditions,
abundant moisture in the second half of 1999 resulted in
wet conditions over almost all of Colorado (Colorado State
University, Colorado Climate Center, 1999),

Conclusions From Past Drought Efforts

In the 1976-77 drought, Colorado's government
assumed a lead role in coordinating federal, state, and
local government response, and promoted statewide
public conservation practices, Conclusions from that
effort include:

. the diversity, complexity, and ambiguity of drought
impacts blurred identification of alternative actions
available to decision makers;

. a systematic definition of problem areas and
potential solutions was essential to effective
government response, so "under" and "over"
reactions could be minimized;

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. both physical and social impact data were needed;

· knowledge of the location, kind, and degree of water
shortage provides better identification of impacts;

. timely and accurate data on impact development
was crucial to effective response;

· impact identification provides the framework for
governmental and public adjustments;

· integration of response by private, public, and
governmental entities was needed;

. as the drought intensifies, the maintenance of
established channels of responsibility, with
emphasis on water conservation and planning,
becomes increasingly important;

. as impact problems and local needs become more
serious, better management and integration of effort
also intensifies; and

· should drought intensify to the point where impacts
exceed the state's response capabilities, an
effective state program will help facilitate a request
for federal assistance.

Reference Appendix B for additional impacts, actions,
and lessons learned from previous droughts,

Drought Planning Begins...

Governor Lamm took action in February 1981 to deal
with potential drought situations. His memorandum of
February 5 required the accomplishment of the
following tasks:

(1). Develop and activate a data collection and
assessment system which will identify the potential
impacts of a drought and track their occurrence
and intensity. At some point, this assessment
process may result in a recommendation that a
drought emergency be proclaimed.

(2). Develop a drought emergency response plan
which would be activated by a drought emergency
decision, This task includes cataloguing existing
state and federal response and relief programs
and authorities, and developing recommendations
to meet additional needs,

The initial Colorado Drought Response Plan was
completed in 1981, and revised in 1986, 1990, and 2001.
In 1981, it was one of three state drought plans in the
nation. Since that time, the plan has been widely
distributed and received interest both nationally and
internationally. It has served as a model for other states.

JANUARY 2001