Across the United States, the risk of drought is expected to grow due to reduced precipitation and higher temperatures caused by climate change. Drought’s far-reaching impacts can ripple through communities, regions, watersheds, economies and ecosystems. This fact sheet overviews strategies for areas with a projected increase in drought conditions to become more resilient. It concludes with a community case study that has used a number of these strategies, and a list of tools to help communities evaluate the costs and benefits of resilience strategies.
Key Takeaways
The risk of drought is increasing due in part, to climate change-caused reduced precipitation, higher temperatures and shifting seasons.
Drought can have far-reaching impacts on agriculture, landscaping, recreation, infrastructure and public health.
Communities can act to be more resilient to drought by employing strategies to conserve water in homes, agricultural or industrial processes, access new water sources, and manage drought on a watershed level.
Drought resilience strategies are already being implemented in drought-prone communities and can provide a number of economic, environmental, and public health co-benefits and save communities money over time.
