This updated (9 March 2023) CRS report comes to us from Charles V. Stern and Eva Lipiec: 'Drought in the United States: Science, Policy, and Selected Federal Authorities'. Read on...
Click on the graphics to enlarge them. I've left a lot out - plenty to read and absorb.
Download CRS_Report_Drought_in USA_Science_Policy_Auth_9March2023pdf
Summary
Drought―a deficiency of moisture that results in adverse effects―occurs to some extent almost every year in areas of the United States. Droughts can simultaneously reduce available water supplies and increase demands for water. Drought has the potential to affect economic and environmental conditions on local, regional, and national scales, as well as to disrupt water supplies for households and communities.
Droughts are a component of climate variability and may be seasonal, multiyear, or multi-decadal in duration. According to a 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report on the physical science of climate change, variable precipitation and rising temperatures are intensifying droughts in some U.S. regions. According to the report, certain types of droughts—such as those causing agricultural impacts—are expected to be more likely in the western and central regions of the United States in the future.
The federal government generally defers to state primacy in surface and groundwater allocation, and states and local entities typically lead efforts to prepare for drought. Multiple federal agencies contribute to these efforts to predict, plan for, and respond to drought. The federal government, and in particular the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, plays a key role in researching and monitoring drought through the National Integrated Drought Information System and the U.S. Drought Monitor. Other federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Geological Survey, also research and monitor drought factors and conditions.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides the primary federal financial aid to lessen the impacts of drought and compensate for agricultural production loss after drought onset. Other federal programs may assist with drought in their support of other water investments. For example, Congress authorized programs supporting nonfederal and tribal efforts to develop water conservation, water reuse and recycling, rural water supplies, or other municipal and industrial water supplies. Some of these programs may prioritize projects that lessen the impacts of drought even if these programs do not focus exclusively on drought.
Congress has authorized federal assistance for other aspects of drought, but these programs generally are limited in scope. In localities or watersheds with major projects managed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation, which operates exclusively in the 17 western states) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE, which operates nationwide), the federal role in water management is more direct and can be especially controversial during times of drought, when multiple users compete for water. Congress has directed both Reclamation and USACE to plan for future droughts at federally authorized projects.
Recent severe droughts, including widespread drought conditions in some areas of the western United States, have raised the profile of drought and led to congressional and administrative proposals to prepare for and respond to its impacts. The 117th Congress enacted funding for drought activities in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58) and in P.L. 117- 169 (commonly referred to as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022). Congressional interest in drought during the 118th Congress may include new and amended authorities for drought planning and response; emergency appropriations to alleviate drought impacts and enhance related activities; and oversight of ongoing federal drought science, preparedness, and management efforts.
Introduction
Drought―a deficiency of moisture that results in adverse impacts―occurs to some extent almost every year in areas of the United States. Drought has the potential to create economic and environmental impacts on local, regional, and national scales, as well as disruptions in water supplies for households and communities. For example, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimates the United States has experienced 30 billion-dollar drought events since 1980, at an estimated total cost of over $309.4 billion. Although droughts are generally a common component of climate variability that may be seasonal, multiyear, or multi- decadal in duration, variable precipitation and rising temperatures are intensifying droughts in the western United States in 2021 and 2022, have raised the profile of drought and led to increasing congressional and administrative proposals to prepare for and respond to its impacts.
Multiple federal agencies contribute to efforts to predict, plan for, and respond to drought. NOAA plays a key role in monitoring drought through the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) and the U.S. Drought Monitor (through a partnership with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA]). USDA provides the primary federal financial aid to lessen drought’s impacts and compensate for agricultural production loss after its onset. Federal water resource agencies such as the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) may face difficult tradeoffs in operating federal water projects during drought; both agencies also have the authority to and conduct activities to mitigate drought impacts. Various other federal agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and emergency authorities also have a role in drought response and mitigation.
This report provides an overview of drought in the United States, including information on drought science, monitoring, and forecasts and on drought types and intensity classifications. It discusses federal authorities related to drought planning and response, with a focus on selected water-related agricultural, environmental, and natural resource authorities with explicit ties to drought. It does not discuss broader disaster-related authorities and their potential nexus to drought, such as the programs and authorities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and interactions between drought and other hazards and concerns (e.g., wildfire, dust, and public health).
Cutting to the chase...
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"Water is the mother of the vine, the nurse and fountain of fecundity, the adorner and refresher of the world." - Charles Mackay (See http://gmd4.org/WaterQuotes.html)
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