Drought

The Colorado Water Conservation Board defines “drought” as a shortage of water associated with a lack of precipitation (Drought, n.d.c). Compared with sudden-onset hazards like earthquakes or fires, drought hazards often unfold over years, and it may be difficult to quantify when a drought begins or ends.

According to the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC), a drought is operationally defined by its various effects:

• Meteorological drought is a period of below-average precipitation.
• Agricultural drought occurs when there is an inadequate water supply to meet the needs of the state’s crops and other agricultural operations like livestock.
• Hydrological drought is a deficiency in surface and subsurface water supplies, generally measured as stream flow, snow pack, groundwater levels, or the level of lakes and/or reservoirs.
• Socioeconomic drought impacts health, well-being, and quality of life, or has an adverse economic impact on a region (Types of Droughts, 2016b).