Defining drought is also a matter of context What may be considered a drought in one area may be considered normal in another As a result drought can also be defined as an extended period of time over which less than average amounts of precipitation fall in a given area Some definitions also describe drought as a water shortage which is when a lack of water begins to negatively impact people crops and the environment DROUGHT MONITOR The US Drought Monitor is a weekly-updated map of drought conditions across the nation and Puerto Rico The map is created jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration the US Department of Agriculture and the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska Lincoln The monitor communicates drought conditions to the public including policy makers in the government The map shows drought conditions using several categories of drought intensity abnormally dry moderate drought severe drought extreme drought and exceptional drought In September 2016 the map of California indicated abnormally dry conditions or worse across the entire state with the southern half experiencing extreme or exceptional conditions Scientists at the US Geological Survey have classified different types of droughts in an effort to better define the phenomena Meteorological droughts are characterized by a lack of rain or other precipitation An agricultural drought occurs when there is little to no soil moisture Finally a hydrological drought refers to times when the flow of streams and rivers is lowered and the levels of groundwater are reduced The National Drought Mitigation Center lists two more types socioeconomic and environmental droughts Socioeconomic drought occurs when a lack of water affects the delivery of goods and services Environmental drought refers to an extended period of a lack of moisture that begins to negatively impact ecosystems 10
Determining when a drought ends is equally as complex and subject to context as defining drought Some may claim a drought is over when reservoirs are full while ranchers may make that claim only when their pastures have enough moisture to adequately support cattle For California at large which depends greatly on snow falling in the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges the drought will end only after years of snowfall have returned water storage to typical levels In California and especially in Okieville the varying definitions of drought provided little comfort As the drought entered its fifth year in 2016 residents situation was dire 7 They couldn’t wait years for water supplies to replenish They needed long-term solutions including public water systems But even with public water in Tulare County and across the state water conservation was quickly becoming a part of everyday life Forecasters considered whether the drought cycle was the new normal NEW PIPES Slowly the effects of projects funded by drought-relief aid trickled down to California residents in the form of long-term solutions Water pipelines carried water to areas in need In East Porterville another town in Tulare County more than 1,800 homes had either dry wells or contaminated water As of August 2016 the first of hundreds of homes were connected to a sustainable water source through pipes laid from the neighboring town of Porterville The East Porterville Water Supply Project will take place in several phases over several years It is expected to connect close to 2,000 homes to the system 8 11
Chapter TWO DROUGHT IN CONTEXT Historically speaking drought in California is nothing new Over the last few millennia the region has experienced periods of extended drought Yet scientists believe the one in California that began in 2012 may be the worst in 1,200 years 1 In the span of recorded climate history California has experienced other significant statewide droughts including Reservoir levels dropped dramatically during the drought of 1976 1977 13
