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.