5 states running out of water

Extreme drought leads to extreme measures

The United States is currently experiencing one of the worst droughts in memory. More than 30 percent of the country was experiencing at least moderate drought last month.

In seven states, drought conditions were so severe that each had more than half of its land area in severe drought. Severe drought is characterized by crop loss, frequent water shortages and mandatory water-use restrictions. Based on data from the U.S. Drought Monitor through May 13, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the states with the highest levels of severe drought.

In an interview, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) meteorologist Brad Rippey, told 24/7 Wall St. that drought has been a long-running issue in parts of the country. "This drought has dragged on for three and a half years in some areas, particularly (in) North Texas," Rippey said.

While large portions of seven states suffer from severe drought, in some parts of these states, drought conditions are even worse. In six of the seven states with the highest levels of drought, more than 30 percent of each state was in extreme drought as of May 13, as well as suffering widespread water shortages. Additionally, in California and Oklahoma, 25 and 30 percent of the states, respectively, suffered from exceptional drought, the highest severity of classification. Under exceptional drought, crop and pasture loss is widespread, and shortages of well and reservoir water can lead to water emergencies.

Drought has had a major impact on important crops such as winter wheat. "So much of the winter wheat is grown across the southern half of the Great Plains," Rippey said, in an area that includes three of the hardest-hit states. In the Southwest, concerns are less-focused on agriculture and more on reservoir levels, Rippey said.

The U.S. Drought Monitor is produced by the USDA, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Drought Mitigation Center at the Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the seven states with the highest proportions of total area classified in at least a state of severe drought as of May 13, 2014. Also reviewed were figures recently published by the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service as part of its 2012 Census of Agriculture. MSN