Preparing South Carolina for Drought:Lessons Learned from the State’s First Drought and Water Shortage Tabletop Exercise
Ekaterina Altman and Kirsten LackstromCarolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments (CISA)University of South Carolina Carolinas Climate Resilience Conference October 30, 2018
Drought Planning in Southeast U.S.
How do SE states plan for and respond to drought events?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches?
Methods: analysis of formal documents and plans, interviews with drought coordinators
2000 201820042002 2006 20102008 2012 20162014
ALFL KY NC* SC*TNVA
Drought
Plans
Water
Plans SC GA ARKYVAGA
Water
Statues &
Regulations NC
FL
VA GAGA
KYVA LAVA VAGA
Hazard
Mitigation
Plans
20042002 2006 20102008 2012 20162014 2018
Drought
Statues &
Regulations
KY
SC ALNC GASC AL ALNC
Drought, Water and HMP Planning in Southeast U.S.
U.S. Drought Monitor Southeast: VA, NC, SC, GA, FL, AL. https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu.
Southeast States: AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA. * Part of State’s Emergency Operations Plan
FL
How SC Compares to the “Ideal Drought Plan”
Plan ComponentDrought
Response Act 2000
Regulations2001
HazardMitigation Plan 2018
Emergency Operations Plan 2017
1. Roles & Responsibilities
2. Monitoring X
3. Indicators/Trigger Levels X X
4. Response Actions X X
5. Enforcement Actions/Mediation X X
6. Communication X
7. Coordination X
8. Impact & Risk Assessment X X X
9. Post-drought Assessment X X X X
10. Mitigation X X
South Carolina Documents
South Carolina Water Resource Summit: https://www.clemson.edu/public/sc_water_resources/summit_drought.html
U.S. Drought Monitor: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Maps/MapArchive.aspx
2002 2007 2011 2016
Tabletop Motivation
SC Drought and Water Shortage Tabletop Exercise
September 2017, SC Emergency Operations Center
Drought Monitoring and Response in SC
Why: To carefully and closely monitor, conserve, and manage
the State’s water resources in the best interest of all South Carolinians.
Who: Drought Response Committee and
Department of Natural Resources – State Climatology Office
Statewide members• Forestry Commission• Department of Agriculture• Emergency Management Division• Department of Health and Environmental Control• Department of Natural Resources
Local members • Water Utilities• Local Governments• Power Generation Facilities• Soil and Water Conservation Districts
http://www.scdrought.com/gallery.html
When and Where:
The State Climatology Office routinely monitors conditions in the State.
The Drought Response Committee meets when needed to evaluate conditions and impacts within four Drought Management Areas.
Drought Monitoring and Response in SC
How: The State uses multiple indicators and indices to monitor drought
and determine drought severity levels.
Drought Monitoring and Response in SC
Scenario Time Points:
Co
nd
itio
ns
an
d R
esp
on
se
All Time Points and Drought Stages
• What, and how, is your organization communicating with the public?• What would help your organization more effectively respond to and
prepare for drought?
Time Point 1: Moderate Drought Statewide
• Does your organization have a plan for monitoring, responding to, and preparing for drought?
• Are drought response plans and ordinances up-to-date and current?
Time Point 2: Severe Drought Statewide and Time Point 3: Extreme Drought Statewide
• How do inconsistencies at different levels (state, local, basin) affect response and communications?
• Are local ordinances and plans consistent with other drought plans in neighboring areas?
Time Point 4: Extreme Drought Intensified
• What resources, information, or additional capacity does the DRC need to assess non-essential water use and curtail certain uses?
• How will appeals to the Administrative Law Judge affect the timeliness of conservation and response efforts?
• When exactly, and for how long, will the Emergency Operations Plan and State Emergency Response Team (SERT) be activated?
Time Point 5: Emergency Operations Plan is Activated
• Are the necessary resources, expertise, and capacity available?• What tasks or actions are not listed in the EOP, but should be included?• How will SC coordinate with other states?
Breaking Points“Ideal Drought Plan”
Component
1. Roles & Responsibilities
2. Monitoring
3. Indicators/Trigger Levels
4. Response Actions
5. Enforcement Actions/Mediation
6. Communication
7. Coordination
8. Post-drought Assessment
9. Impact & Risk Assessment
10. Mitigation
Plans and Procedures• DRC vacancies• EMD and Governor’s Office involved too late• Outdated local-level plans
Education and Awareness• Many agencies unaware of the drought response
process and their role in, and responsibilities for drought response
Communications• Lack of consistent messaging about drought
conditions and water conservation, particularly across the local level
Data and Information• Lack of information (water system
interconnections, economic effects) that would be helpful for planning and mitigation
• “Surprised to find out how few entities have a water use reduction plan.”
• “As a water utility, it was great to get a perspective from other agencies, such as agriculture, industry, and fire prevention.”
• “I had not considered the numerous sectors affected by the wide-reaching effects of an extreme drought.”
• “Regional communication by basin is not formalized....some neighbors do not know one another across the state. The Emergency Operations and the water utilities need a better working relationship.”
Participants’ Insights
Next Steps and Updates
• Address Drought Response Committee vacancies and restructuring needs
• Engagement with Governor’s Office
• Develop training and educational materials for emergency managers
• Continued collaboration with the SC Emergency Management Division
• Conduct future exercises at the regional or watershed level
• Improve connections between water systems, resource managers, and other agencies
New Drought Portal, scdrought.com
For more information: https://cisa.sc.edu/projects__drought-response.html
Ekaterina Altman, [email protected]
Kirsten Lackstrom, [email protected]
Hope MizzellSC State Climatology [email protected]
Acknowledgements:
The NOAA RISA program supported CISA’s work on this project.
This work is also partially supported by an ASPIRE grant from the Office of the Vice President for Research at the University of South Carolina.