ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA. Climate change has and is anticipated to continue to affect the frequency, duration, and spatial extent of drought in the United States. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recognizes the necessity of using the best available and actionable science on climate change impacts to water resources in updating project Drought Contingency Plans to account for changing climate conditions and changes in technology and drought monitoring over the last decade.
A USACE project delivery team was established to compile drought contingency plan information and compare and contrast contents and methods previously used for forecasting drought frequency and intensity in order to evaluate gaps and robustness, develop analytical tools, and set the stage for future updates to plans and their guidance, if necessary.
USACE has released USACE Drought Contingency Planning in the Context of Climate Change. The report reviews the status of the project delivery team and contains an overview of climate, climate change, and drought in the United States to aid in planning for current and future droughts at USACE projects. This report also summarizes the findings of 142 drought contingency plans covering 301 projects with respect to drought determination, drought actions, water law, potential surplus water availability, and drought history. Most of the plans reviewed were completed prior to 2000, before information on climate change was widely available. An internal USACE secure web portal was developed to capture the results of the project delivery team, including drought contingency plans, deviations, pilot information, and other drought-related information.
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For more information, visit www.iwr.usace.army.mil or www.corpsclimate.us.