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Improving Drough[ Mandgemenc ;n [he West: The Role of Mitigation and Prepar~dne55 The Colorado plan is effective because it incorporates three primary components: a monitoring system, an impact assessment system, and a response system, The State is currently attempting to give greater emphasis to mitigation in its plan (Truby and Boulas, 1994). The responsibility for monitoring the availability of water resources is given to the Water Availability Task Force. This task force makes monthly assessments and projections of snowpack, soil moisture levels, reservoir and groundwater levels, precipitation, temperatures, and streamflow from data collected by numerous State and Federal agencies, This information can provide "early warning" of developing drought conditions to help the State prepare for a potential drought situation. Activation of the drought plan is triggered by the values of three indices: modified PDSI, Surface Water Supply Index, and the SP!. The assessment system of the drought plan comprises eight different impact task forces covering the following water-related areas: municipal water, wildfire protection, agricultural industry, tourism, wildlife, economic, energy loss, and health. The goal of each task force is to identify existing and potential drought-related problems and assess possible impacts on society. Each task force is activated based on criteria specifically identified within the plan. Members of the task force are representatives from agencies directly involved with the issue. A final task force, called the Review and Reporting Task Force, is responsible for coordinating all assessments from the impact task forces and reporting this information to policymakers, media, and others, 18 I t I I I I I I I I I The response system is designed to deal with the unmet needs identified by the specific task forces, Local responses are encouraged, but State action is taken when local capabilities are exceeded. The agency most closely associated with the appropriate response is assigned the responsibility to take action and enlist the cooperation of other agencies as necessary, These lead agencies are identified in the plan. For complex emergency responses, an interagency coordinating group is established. Colorado has determined that it is important to have specific criteria established and responses clearly identified so that as a drought begins, the State can immediately begin to cope with the situation. Colorado's drought plan also calls for a postdrought evaluation. Suggestions made in these evaluations can be incorporated into the plan to help mitigate the impacts from future droughts.