CAN RURAL AMERICA PLAN FOR TOMORROW’S DROUGHT?
The total economic effects of the drought of
2002 may never be known, but estimates of damages to businesses and the
environment range well into the billions of dollars. While the impact was
felt in many areas, rural areas were hit especially hard.
Bridget Abraham, a research associate at the
Center for the Study of Rural America, explores some of the ways rural
areas can prepare for future droughts in February’s edition of The Main
Street Economist. The Main Street is published by the Center, which is
based at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
The author writes that while every community
is vulnerable to drought conditions, rural communities are especially
vulnerable because their infrastructure is made up of smaller systems that
may lack the financial support and connections with other water utilities.
Because few rural communities can udpate their water systems, the
situation will likely worsen in the years to come.
Preparedness for handling the drought is
essential, Abraham writes, adding that regional cooperation through
interconnected water systems can create a buffer for small communities in
times of drought.
“To minimize the risk of future drought, it is
clear that rural communities must overcome their lack of capital and other
resources. But capital and resources alone are not enough,” the author
writes. “For rural communities to survive future droughts, they must
cooperate regionally – both to gain the capital and resources they need
and to conserve their water.
This article and past issues of the Main Street
Economist are available on the Bank’s Web site at www.kansascityfed.org.
|
