ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the process by which drought became a major political issue and was eventually resolved. It provides to the ways by which actors in the municipal political system perceived and managed this form of environmental stress. Environmental disturbances and changes often create stresses, and sometimes crises, in political systems and test whether governments and managers can accomodate these stresses through innovation or whether they will fail and be replaced by competitors. In the case of natural resource management debate has centered upon the implications of periodic environmental crises for optimal resource management and planning. The Board of Water Commissioners also proved to be a critical component in the municipal management of water supply. The management of drought depended heavily upon how the political actors evaluated its impact on the municipal water supply. A constraint which deserves mention lies in the limitations of the municipal budget.
