Improving Drought Management Policy and Practice: Lessons from Drought and Ferc Relicensing

2008 S.C. Water Resources Conference Addressing Water Challenges Facing the State and Regio

Institutional Adaptation and Drought Management in the Carolinas

Drought is one of the costliest hazards faced by the United States, having caused billions of dollars in damage and affected all regions of the country over the past two decades. There have been many efforts to strengthen society’s technical and managerial capacity to respond to drought, mitigate risks, and adopt proactive planning and management strategies. Advances entail the adoption of drought plans, improvements to data collection and monitoring systems, and development of networks to disseminate information and foster communications. Despite recent progress, response remains reactive and crisis-oriented. Management is often uncoordinated across the multiple sectors and fragmented jurisdictions affected by and responsible for making drought decisions. While drought adaptation efforts frequently focus on the technical and managerial aspects of drought planning and response, there are frequent acknowledgements of the need for additional research to improve understanding of how the broader system of institutional frameworks, social networks, and stakeholder values and beliefs affect society’s capacity to cope with and manage drought. Furthermore, most drought research to date has focused on the western states, overlooking other regions of the country that are also vulnerable to drought and that operate within unique configurations of water rights and related institutional arrangements. As different regions, sectors, and communities perceive and experience drought in diverse ways, expanding understanding of the diverse processes and mechanisms through which different groups manage drought risks can help to inform ongoing efforts to adapt and build resilience to drought. This study investigates the institutional factors that interact to enable and constrain the implementation and coordination of drought planning and management activities. The case study focuses on drought responses and adaptations in North Carolina and South Carolina, two states in the water-rich southeastern region of the United States, during a period in which two record-breaking droughts occurred (1998-2002, 2007-2008). Data collection took place in 2007-2008, through interviews with decision makers (n=87) working at local-, state-, and basin levels of management, observation of drought and water management meetings (n=69), and review of stakeholder documents. The analysis examines three overarching questions: 1) what types of changes in the institutional framework are necessary to support different drought adaptation strategies, 2) how do institutional interactions affect the implementation and coordination of efforts across the state and local levels, and 3) what types of institutional changes are necessary to facilitate cross-scalar management and coordination? Findings demonstrate that significant shifts in drought management have occurred across the Carolinas. These shifts include the increasing formalization of drought response and the development of new organizational arrangements and processes that facilitate cross-scalar interactions and cooperation. However, the study reveals that these changes were implemented only when combinations of specific institutional changes also occurred. These changes were necessary to support the adoption and operationalization of new strategies to respond to and manage drought. Findings also reveal many of the institutional barriers that constrain the implementation of stand-alone drought plans and suggest that drought response and planning is more effective when integrated into other water planning and management processes. Overall, the study highlights the need for more careful attention to the complexities of the institutional environment of drought and water resources management and how that environment influences what adaptations are considered legitimate and feasible by different groups and decision making levels. The technical and more formal dimensions of planning require the support of informal institutions such as social practices and behavioral norms to develop the potential for adaptations and resilience-building efforts to extend beyond a crisis period. A more concerted focus on institutional issues and interactions is recommended as efforts to align national, state, and local capacities to prepare for and manage drought continue

The Impact of Drought on Coastal Ecosystems in the Carolinas

2012 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Exploring Opportunities for Collaborative Water Research, Policy and Managemen

Drought and Coastal Ecosystems: Identifying Impacts and Opportunities to Inform Management

2014 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Informing Strategic Water Planning to Address Natural Resource, Community and Economic Challenge

LOCAL OBSERVERS FILL IN THE DETAILS ON DROUGHT IMPACT REPORTER MAPS

We all know that talking politics and religion in social settings-with friends, family, or strangers- can be a firestarter. By contrast, talking about the weather is a reliably safe conversational opener. But there\u27s another reason that the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) wants people to talk about weather. Individuals can provide a rich source of weather-related anecdotes and observations that prove critical to evaluating droughts and enabling appropriate responses. The mechanism for this valuable conversation with the public is the Drought Impact Reporter (DIR). Lately, the NDMC has been working to refine the way this online service encourages citizen observers and incorporates information directly from them

The Missing Piece: Drought Impacts Monitoring Report from a Workshop in Tucson, AZ MARCH 5-6, 2013

Based on a shared interest to better understand the impacts of drought and the potential utility of using drought impacts reporting as a tool for monitoring conditions, researchers from the Carolinas RISA (Dow, Lackstrom, and Brennan), the Climate Assessment for the Southwest (Crimmins and Ferguson), and the Southwest Climate Science Center (Meadow) decided to convene a workshop in Tucson in March 2013. The primary goal was to assemble a small group of university and agency scientists involved with drought impacts monitoring to discuss opportunities and barriers associated with drought impacts reporting, recommend best practices for implementing a drought impacts reporting system, and develop a path forward for addressing or overcoming barriers. The longer-term objective of the initial meeting was to explore the feasibility of creating a community of practice that could share information and integrate activities related to drought impacts research and reporting

IMPROVING DROUGHT MANAGEMENT POLICY AND PRACTICE: LESSONS FROM DROUGHT AND FERC RELICENSING

Abstract. South Carolina's recent experience with drough

Coastal Ecological Impacts of Drought: Needs for a Drought Early Warning System

2010 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Science and Policy Challenges for a Sustainable Futur

Drought and Water Shortages: South Carolina’s Response Mechanisms, Vulnerabilities, and Needs

The South Carolina Drought and Water Shortage Tabletop Exercise took place on September 27, 2017, at the South Carolina Emergency Operations Center in West Columbia, SC. The exercise gathered 80 participants, representing federal and state agencies, public water suppliers, county and municipal governments, industry, consulting companies, and nonprofit organizations. The purpose of the exercise was to review plans and procedures that govern state-, basin-, and local-level responses to drought and water shortages. Many of South Carolina’s drought response mechanisms were updated by the 2000 Drought Response Act and Regulations, but a systematic effort has not been made to review or assess their effectiveness. Attendees walked through a series of exercise responses to gradually worsening drought scenarios and an activation of the Emergency Operations Plan. The event helped to identify strengths and weak points of the state’s drought response and opportunities to proactively prepare for future droughts. The key needs discussed by participants included updated drought response plans and procedures to ensure a coordinated and timely response to droughts; greater educational opportunities to enhance agencies’ familiarity with the Drought Response Program and their role in drought response and mitigation; more effective communications before, during, and after drought events, across agencies and with the public; and enhanced data and information products that can be used to build common understanding of drought risks, impacts, and vulnerabilities

Climate and Water Resources in the Carolinas: Approaches to Applying Global Climate Change Information to Local Decisions

A wide range of resource managers, community planners, and other stakeholders are increasingly asking for information regarding how climate change will affect South Carolina’s freshwater and coastal resources. They are interested in using this information for decisions related to infrastructure design, water system planning, vulnerability assessments, and ecosystem management. While climate change data, projections, and related information are also becoming increasingly available, many uncertainties around future climate change and its potential impacts often hinder its application. Furthermore it is often not available in a format or at a scale that is easily translated to local- and regional resource management decisions. This article highlights decision-maker questions about climate change in the Carolinas, approaches to using global climate change information, and opportunities to bridge the gap that often exists between scientific research and applications. We find that integration of future climate scenarios with water resources issues succeeds when robust links exist between climate variables and system response, and when scenarios from observed or simulated climate data are representative, plausible, and consistent. In general, there is no one “best” model that depicts future climate conditions, nor can climate science provide accurate predictions for specific locations and impacts. However, climate change projections can be used in conjunction with a variety of other tools and resources, such as vulnerability assessments and historical climate observations, to inform planning processes. Improved understanding of the system of concern, the linkages to climate, and the most important variables can help decision makers and researchers alike to develop the most relevant and informative analyses for climate-related questions. Ongoing engagement, as well as a willingness to experiment and share lessons learned, between and across the resource management and science communities will help to advance the climate change dialogue in the Carolinas and enhance the production and use of climate change information