Nebraska has faced many droughts over the centuries, and it will face many more. The communities that survive and prosper during dry times will be the communities that plan ahead.
Experts from Nebraska, Illinois and Oklahoma have collaborated on a “Guide to Community Drought Preparedness,” an impressive 53-page, in-depth roadmap that will make drought preparation easier for towns across the state and the nation.
The National Drought Mitigation Center, based at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the Lower Platte River Corridor Alliance are familiar to many Nebraskans. The Oklahoma Climatological Survey and the Illinois State Water Survey also participated.
The guide is based on decades of experience by state and national governments, said Mark Svoboda of the mitigation center. It “takes what we’ve learned about monitoring and reducing vulnerability down to the local level,” he said.
That’s where it needs to be. The federal and state governments are good at reacting to active emergencies — floods, hurricanes and such. But water grows short one drop at a time, over weeks and months and, ultimately, years. The day-to-dayness of it means that it is local communities and local people who will feel the pain first and sharpest.
Nebraska has had frequent water-short periods lasting at least five years over the past several thousand years, according to Dr. Michael J. Hayes of the mitigation center. One that began in 1276 lasted 38 years.
The drought guide suggests that a drought-ready community is one that has looked at how drought has affected the area in the past and how it might in the future. It has set up a monitoring system to communicate drought conditions to others in the area. It has educated the public about water, drought and the community’s drought action plan.
Drought affects farmers, sure, but it has an impact on many areas of civic life. It can cause property damage or depreciation as well as harm to crops, pasture, livestock and forests. Industries that use water can be in trouble, as can utilities that rely on water for cooling or hydrogeneration. Fire hazards increase, including the threat of wildfires.
The guide noted that of the 96 weather disasters totaling more than $1 billion in damages over the past 30 years, some 15 were droughts and 10 were fires, frequently aggravated by droughts.
A heat wave and drought in 1980 in the central and eastern United States caused $55 billion in damage (in 2007 dollars) and an estimated 10,000 deaths, the report noted.
The guide lays out the path to drought readiness in detail, from getting started through information gathering and establishing monitoring to public awareness and education and planning responses.
The suggestions range from the obvious — listing all available water supplies by source — and more obscure efforts, such as uncovering the often-subtle signals locally that mean a drought is building. One key component is linking response actions to drought indicators, that is, knowing when and how to react appropriately as dry conditions build.
Conscientious city and county leaders can benefit from the information and analysis in the Guide to Community Drought Preparedness. The Platte River alliance and the UNL Drought Mitigation Center have provided clear advice. All that remains is for communities to act.
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
