This is not a game
Well, it is
County level emergency mitigation
plans include drought among the 11
most common hazards
Drought damages in 2012-2013
 RMA indemnity payments over $1
billion
 Payments for livestock deaths and
for forage total almost $400 million
•
•
•
•
All reservoirs that provided M & I were
below conservation pool, some at record
lows
Streams and rivers at new record low
flows
Groundwater declines seen in most
aquifers, especially alluvial affecting
PWS wells
BUT, by June, 2013 all PWS reservoirs
full again (except Clinton, 2014)
Northwest
South Central
Southwest
Tony Lazell, KGS, 2012
Northeast
Southeast
Tony Lazell, KGS, 2012
So how do we engage
stakeholders to mitigate and be
better prepared for extremes?
Drought Simulations
The Long Term Vision for the future of
water supply includes:
Conduct drought simulation exercises
to educate the public and identify
gaps in conservation efforts.
Drought tournaments
Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada
implemented 2 drought tournaments in
2011 and 2012
Introduced in US at the NIDIS /NDMC
engaging preparedness communities
drought conference (2011)
Then Colorado (2012), Oklahoma
(2014) and Texas (2015)
Tournament Basics
Competitive
 Teams of stakeholders design drought
adaptations and responses
 Teams compete against other teams for
points
 Teams must stay within a budget
Collaborative
 Across stakeholder groups
The Giant River
Basin
Unionville
Reservoirs
Green Acres Farm
Drinking Water Treatment Plant
Well Field
Wastewater Treatment Plant
The Well
Fed
Feedlot
Pipelines
North Metro Water District
Unionville Service Area
Charmington County Water
Fort Armywood
The worst drought in recorded history
developed in 2034 and 2035
Paleoclimatology suggests it is the worst
drought in several centuries
Drought Conditions
July 2035
U.S. Drought Monitor created a
new category for this event
Disastrous Drought
The Scenario
Reservoir conditions
Well levels
Streamflow
Demands
Forecasts
Budget
The Play
Long Term Options
• Round One
– With no interaction, select ONE option
• Round Two
– Talk to a neighbor, preferably 1 you don’t
know
– Together make a selection
What would you do?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Regional coordination
Wastewater reuse/low quality source
Demand Reduction
Buy water rights
Develop new wells/aquifer storage
The Play
Long Term Options
• Round One
– With no interaction, select ONE option
• Round Two
– Talk to a neighbor, preferably 1 you don’t
know
– Together make a selection
What would you do?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Regional coordination
Wastewater reuse/low quality source
Demand Reduction
Buy water rights
Develop new wells/aquifer storage
Kansas Tournament
• Focused in Eastern Kansas
• Test Decision making in tournament setting
• Identify gaps in drought planning, with
opportunities for follow-up
• Evaluate options to scale tournament to local,
regional, statewide
• Evaluate ability to use as strictly educational
tool
The Kansas Drought Tournament
• Coming Soon
• Early 2016….