Drought

Drought in the Missouri River Basin

The S.D. School of Mines study (2019) estimated total available water supply in Pennington County as: 111 cfs under wet conditions, 60.2 cfs under average precipitation conditions, and 22 cfs under extended dry conditions. The graphic below shows that under extended growth conditions, available supply for Pennington County would currently fall short of water needs at the current population.

• Current water demand exceeds availability during drought
• Given recent and projected population growth, it appears that under average conditions the region could see water shortages sooner than predicted by the 2017 SD Mines Study

View the South Dakota Drought Monitor