Dealing with the curtailment of water supplies during drought is frequently the most
refractory problem faced by water utility management. The timing, duration, and severity
are always uncertain. Drought contingency plans of progressive water utilities are marked
by four consistent and dominant characteristics. First is an accurate evaluation of the
dependable yield of available supplies which reflects the vagaries of nature,
environmental constraints, operating limits of facilities, and interdependence among
sources of supply. The second hallmark is that water requirements are projected with
technologies that fully reflect the potential variation in demand. The third characteristic
of a sound drought contingency plan is that the increasing severity of drought and
reduction in available supply is matched with measures to reduce water demands. The
fourth, and final, single characteristic is that the plan has flexibility in application as all
conditions during a drought can't be predicted beforehand. A drought contingency plan
based on the "drought of record" provides useful guidance, but any subsequent drought
will have a different pattern and require a different response.
Approaches for and characteristics of drought contingency plans are illustrated in this paper through
two case studies. First is a Midwestern city of 225,000 residents using alluvial
groundwater for supply. Second is an Eastern utility with four reservoirs for supply. Includes tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 370 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 11 |
| Published : | 06/15/2003 |
