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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.
Drought is one of the most serious hazards affecting Colorado (Colorado Water Conservation Board). Colorado’s water supply comes entirely from precipitation, in the form of rain, snow, and hail, because there are no major rivers that flow into the state (State Drought Planning, n.d.g). With the semiarid conditions in Colorado, drought is a natural part of the climate and can directly or indirectly affect the entire population of the state. Since 2010, every county in the state has experienced drought impacts (Colorado Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan, 2013, p. 3-21). Droughts in Colorado can be short or long-lived, and their impacts come in many forms, particularly in water-intensive sectors such as agriculture, municipal water supplies, recreation, tourism, and wildfire protection.
Droughts are associated with several other hazards in Colorado. They are an ongoing cause of expansive/shrinking soils, subsidence (the gradual sinking of land), and pest infestation. Droughts can also create conditions conducive to wildfires and flash flood events.
Colorado Water Conservation Board
