Delivery-Date: Tue May 28 06:22:23 2002
Sender: snowbear@gasherbrumII.peakpeak.com
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Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 05:34:16 -0600
From: Pam North <snowbear@peakpeak.com>
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To: "North-Keys, Chris" <erlkonig@talisman.org>
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NO DOUBT - IT'S A DROUGHT

by Pam North

Droughts, an insidious hazard of nature originating from a deficiency of
precipitation over an extended period of time, have been a cyclical part
of Colorado's climate, with severe and sustained droughts occurring
approximately every 35 to 40 years, and lesser ones in between.  The
1858-1859 gold rush days were a drought period.  In the twentieth
century there were four prolonged dry spells:  one in the 1910s; another
in the 1930s (the Dust Bowl period) that affected 50,000,000 acres of
land and left farmers destitute; the worst one in the 1950s when low
snowpack and a series of hot, dry summers combined over seven years to
cause the Great Plains to suffer a severe water shortage; still another
in parts of Colorado in the 1970s (when skiers flying in on Christmas
Day found grass instead of powder, and the ski industry quickly learned
the necessity of learning to make its own snow).

Unlimited water from the tap is something we tend to take for granted, a
definite mistake on our part.  A study of Colorado's history proves that
droughts have been regular occurrences well before the twentieth
century.  By studying historical documents, tree rings, lake and river
beds, and archaeological remains, researchers have found evidence of
earlier droughts of even more magnitude than the moderately severe and
relatively short ones in more recent history.  There is evidence of two
"megadroughts," one during the last quarter of the 13th century, and
another during the second half of the 16th century.  The latter was the
worst and most persistent drought in the last 1,000 to 2,000 years.
Conditions that caused these two major droughts could easily recur in
modern times, leading to a natural disaster of unprecedented dimension
in this century.  In addition to the history of regular cycles of
ordinary droughts (and once or twice a century for megadroughts) are two
human factors which compound the threat:  land use practices and global
warming.

Colorado is experiencing a drought that began in the east in 1999
(droughts tend to move from east to west).  Those of us who are mountain
dwellers are reminded every day of our area's dryness by the multitude
of forest fires that are a secondary effect.  It has never been a
question of if, but rather when, another water crisis would hit
Colorado.  Urban regions and many rural areas continue to grow, and
along with that growth comes more demand for municipal and industrial
water.  Our vulnerability to drought and to a water shortage increases
as human population grows, and this threat will continue to be a primary
constraint and source of conflict and controversy in the future.
Planning for drought is essential, but obstacles exist to thwart
successful water management:  no single definition of drought applies to
all regions; people take water for granted, failing to conserve this
precious resource in terms of their daily lives; responsibility is
divided among too many governmental jurisdictions, and the United States
lacks a unified and definitive philosophy in managing its natural
resources, including water; policies such as outdated water allocation
practices and disaster relief may actually hinder effective long-term
management of natural resources.  Yet the course of action should be to
practice risk management rather than crisis management in planning for
drought.  While drought is a low-profile natural disaster, it is as
costly as floods and hurricanes in its environmental and economic
impacts, and effective planning can mitigate its effects at the least
expense.

As individuals we need to learn to be more conservative in our uses of
water, such as designing and planting our landscaping to withstand drier
periods, and to avoid waste in using this precious asset.  It must be
kept foremost in our minds that we may not always have enough water.