JEFFERSON CITY — An emerging drought across a wide swath of Missouri has caught the attention of state officials.
Beginning this week, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources started ramping up its response to the dry conditions, which are affecting an estimated 1.5 million Missourians.
“Moving forward, we expect to continue to meet weekly with these agency partners to assess the situation and provide coordinated action to help Missouri citizens mitigate the drought,†said DNR spokeswoman Connie Patterson.
The latest report shows that a short-term drought continues to grow across much of the lower two-thirds of Missouri.
The ºüÀêÊÓƵ region is classified as abnormally dry.
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Howell, Oregon and Ripley counties along the Arkansas border are in a severe drought, as is a stretch of the Interstate 70 corridor west of Columbia.
The abnormally dry and drought conditions began to develop as the state transitioned from spring into summer. In April, the entire state of Missouri was drought-free.
The conditions have caught the attention of Gov. Mike Parson, who operates a small cattle operation at his home in Bolivar.
“As concerns about drought conditions grow among our farmers and ranchers, I met with my senior staff to ensure the state is ready to respond if conditions worsen,†Parson tweeted Tuesday.
Patterson said DNR is in the midst of updating the state’s drought response webpage, which was created during the 2018 drought.
The agency also is launching a new office designed to become a resource for citizens during both droughts and floods.
The Missouri Hydrology Information Center will be housed within the department’s Water Resources Center.
“We are pursuing an aggressive timeline to make sure resources are available as soon as possible and expect to introduce resources through a webpage within the next calendar year,†Patterson said.
In the state budget, lawmakers approved a $10.4 million expenditure to help pay for the division, including the hiring of four additional employees.
The new center will attempt to improve the current system of measuring stream depth to provide more real-time stream level data at numerous statewide locations.
That enhanced monitoring will help forecast and communicate flood risks.
The center also will work on drought-related issues by improving the mapping of underground aquifers, particularly in northern Missouri, where water supplies are scarcer.
It also will expand the state’s Missouri soil moisture network to provide a better early warning mechanism for a developing drought.
The proposed new office is one result of a special task force formed during the 2019 flood.
The working group was chaired by top state agency officials, as well as representatives of farm groups, levee districts and county officials.
The Governor’s Flood Recovery Advisory Working Group in its final report submitted in May 2020, recommended the state develop an enhanced flood-monitoring system, and that such a system should include and draw upon the expertise of various university and state and federal government partners and be tailored to the specific needs of Missouri.
Posted at 1:50 p.m. Thursday, July 14.