Kansas Drought

Droughts affect more people in North America than any other natural hazard. The cost of losses due to drought in the United States averages $8-9 billion every year. In Kansas, the droughts of the 1930s and 1950s resulted in severe economic impacts that included crop losses and damage, high livestock mortality rates, tree loss due to disease, damage to fish habitat due to low streamflows, and increased food prices. Low streamflows during 2000-2006 in Kansas resulted in record low levels at Federal reservoirs and an unprecedented number of administrative decisions made by Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources to curtail water diversions from rivers to maintain State minimum desirable streamflows. In 2006, communities that receive their municipal water supply from alluvial wells connected to the Smoky Hill River experienced water shortages because of low streamflows. Included in this page are tables and maps that summarize drought conditions in Kansas using real-time data from USGS streamgages and publications that describe historical droughts in Kansas.