Mitigating Drought

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General
Western U.S. Water Issues
Water Banking

General
The Western Governors’ Association (WGA) created a Drought Response Action Plan, based on the findings of WGA’s 1996 drought task force.

Local Drought Response Information was developed by the Preparedness and Mitigation Working Group of the Western Drought Coordination Council (now on hiatus) to help municipal water suppliers compare different approaches to drought planning.

How to Reduce Drought Risk, created by the Preparedness and Mitigation Working Group of the Western Drought Coordination Council, is a guide to help planners anticipate and reduce exposure to drought.

Preparing for an Uncertain Climate, vol. 1 and vol. 2 , a 1993 publication from the now-defunct Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, provides information helpful to water resources planners, including technology and policy options; institutional stresses on U.S. water supplies; and water resource concerns, by state and region.

The American Water Works Association’s white paper on water rights has detailed policy recommendations for practicing wise water stewardship.

Drought Contingency Planning: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Plans—Results of a study of the effectiveness of drought contingency plans; from the September/October 1998 issue of Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management.

Management of Water Resources for Drought Conditions This paper examines the roles of government in planning for drought, including drought programs and drought-related actions of the 48 conterminous states.

Western U.S. Water Issues
The Western States Water Council, which was created through a 1965 WGA resolution, maintains a list of selected publications on water issues in the western United States.

Estimates of Water Use in the Western United States—A 1997 Western Water Policy Review Advisory Commission report. This report provides estimates of water use by category, state, and water resources region for the western United States for 1990. Trends from 1960 to 1990 are also presented.

Improving Drought Management in the West: The Role of Mitigation and Preparedness—A 1997 Western Water Policy Review Advisory Commission report, by D.A. Wilhite of the National Drought Mitigation Center. This report provides an overview and analysis of drought and drought management issues in the West and proposes ways to improve the coping capacity of the region.

Water in the West: Challenge for the Next Century—A 1998 Western Water Policy Review Advisory Commission report. The Commission’s report discusses the status of the West’s water, key challenges facing water managers in the West, a history of federal water programs, and federal and state efforts for sustainable water management; it also presents recommendations about the role of the federal government in western water management.

Water Banking
Water Banking: What Is It and How Does It Work? and Water Banking: A Solution to Water Scarcity?, written by the Nevada Cooperative Extension Service, discuss the concept and pros and cons of water banking.

The Arizona Water Banking Authority was created to store unused Arizona Colorado River water to meet future needs.

Reallocating Texas’ Water: Slicing Up the Leftover Pie discusses challenges and changes facing Texas water law.