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Drought Information

Meeting via teleconference on April 25, 2012, the South Carolina Drought Response Committee maintained the same drought status statewide for all counties except Aiken, which was upgraded to a "severe drought" designation. Aiken County joins the six South Carolina Counties (Oconee, Pickens, Anderson, Abbeville, McCormick and Edgefield) already in "severe drought" status based on support from all indicators that the drought was deteriorating in the central Savannah region. The remainder of the state maintains a "moderate drought" status. Moderate is the second level of the State's four category drought scale, ranging from incipient to extreme.

According to Dr. Hope Mizzell, S.C. State Climatologist, the winter and early spring have been dry with most locations receiving less than 65 percent of normal rainfall. "Rainfall during this time of year is crucial for adequate recharge, which did not occur. As we move into late spring and summer, it takes normal rainfall just to keep up with evapo-transpiration and increased water demand." Evapo-transpiration is the combined water loss due to natural evaporation and transpiration by plants as they absorb water through their roots and release it as vapor through their leaves.

Scott Harder, S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Hydrologist, confirmed that, generally, there was not sufficient winter/spring recharge, and well levels are less than 25 percent of normal for parts of the state. "The Savannah Basin lakes have been the hardest hit, with lake levels in Hartwell and Thurmond ranging seven to eight feet below target for this time of year. Lake Jocassee is over 20 feet below target. Other lakes such as Murray, Wateree and Moultrie are close to or at their target storage. Stream flow levels are also running below to much below normal flows for this time of year."

The Committee plans to continue monitoring drought conditions closely, and to meet again in approximately 4 weeks, or sooner if conditions change rapidly.

The occasional storm systems passing through Spartanburg Water's watershed have so far provided sufficient water to keep our main reservoirs at full pool. This has been helped by generally cooler temperatures and system demands typical of the winter months when outdoor use is at its lowest level. However, we are seeing that flows in the streams feeding Spartanburg Water's storage reservoirs move into the normal range only during rain events, and quickly return to below normal levels for this time of year when the rain ends.

Careful management of our water supply is essential to our community at all times, but especially under prolonged drought conditions such as we have experienced in recent years. Spartanburg Water is managing its water supply by controlling downstream releases from the reservoirs in accordance with our SCDHEC permit conditions, and will continue to closely monitor stream flows, lake levels and drought conditions.

The reservoirs are currently full, and we do not foresee a need for any use restrictions in the near term. However, as always, we encourage you to help us conserve this precious resource by making wise use of water a part of your everyday life. There are many easy to follow tips for saving water on the Spartanburg Water Web page and elsewhere. Remember, every drop counts.

For more information on the drought, visit these sites:

South Carolina Drought Status
US Drought Monitor
Weather Predictions
US Drought Information

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