As a major component of the Climate Assessment Project for the Southwest, this study is part of a larger effort to assess the vulnerability of natural and human systems to climate variability and change in the southwestern U.S. As importantly, this assessment seeks to fulfill the project’s larger mission of working directly with communities to improve their ability to respond adequately and appropriately to climatic events and climate change. The goal of this study is to demonstrate the utility of a rapid ethnographic approach for (1) conducting a community-level assessment of climate related vulnerability and (2) extending the findings to other assessments.

Conventional wisdom often views the urban water sector as being among the more sensitive sectors in the arid U.S. Southwest. To test this assumption, the Climate Assessment Project for the Southwest analyzed the water budgets of five Arizona cities to determine how severe the impacts would be from the deepest one-, five-, and ten-year droughts on record. Case study sites for the analysis included the Phoenix Active Management Area, Tucson Active Management Area, Santa Cruz Active Management Area, and the Benson and Sierra Vista subwatersheds of the San Pedro River.

The information presented here highlights the findings of a drought history study in support of the Governor's Drought Task Force activities, such as determining triggers for drought mitigation and response actions, based on observed hydroclimatic and other information. The material is intended to provide the relevant climatology background for non-specialists, and it is presented in a top ten or frequently asked question format. The questions and answers cover the major climate-related aspects of drought including long-term averages, seasonality, interannual and long-term spatial and temporal drought variations, extremes, and causes of climatic variability. The answers to each question include bulleted Quick Answers followed by a concise explanation of more detailed information. Example figures are presented within the text.