Integrating drought planning into water resources management

The Model Water Use Act, which advocated the use of five planning tools to incorporate social and economic considerations into water shortage planning, is briefly described. Drought response policies of the 48 continental states of the U.S.A. were analysed and categorized in terms of the five criteria of the Model Act. The criteria were: a declaration of government authority for drought response; mechanisms for automatically implementing and terminating a drought response plan; notification of impending restrictions; categories and classes of restrictions; and enforcement of the programme by the implementing unit of government. The survey demonstrated that the use of the Model Act need not adhere to any particular model, nor result in rigid bureaucratization of the drought management process. There was no ideal drought management plan. Each plan was dependent on the particular needs and resources available to each state. There are 104 references.