U.S. Water News Online
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Officials learned lessons from the five-year drought that ended in 2002 that have made enduring this year's dry spell easier.
The Yadkin-Pee Dee river basin has fallen to nearly the levels seen in 2002, when South Carolina officials warned the Pee Dee River was only three months of dry weather away from drying up.
But no one downstream complained when Alcoa and Progress Energy asked last week to reduce the amount of water released from the Yadkin River lakes, which supply much of the water for the Pee Dee River.
"We've got a lot better control than we did before," said Florence Mayor Frank Willis, chairman of the Pee Dee River Coalition, an advocacy group formed in 2002. "There's a lot more discussions by all parties on a daily basis."
A dry August has led the state's drought committee to schedule a meeting to decide if the official drought level should be raised from moderate to severe. In a severe drought, local governments can impose mandatory water restrictions, but they aren't required.
Rainfall in much of the Midlands and Upstate is about 12 inches below normal for the year, with coastal areas in a little better shape.
Officials said 26 of the state's 39 longtime monitored streams are near record lows for this time of year. Lake Jocassee in the northwestern corner of the state is nearly 22 feet below full pool, while Lake Wateree and Lake Murray are lower than normal.
The drought also has been worsened by a heat wave over much of the state. August is expected to set heat records in Columbia and Greenville, according to the state climate office.
Businesses and utilities are weathering this drought better because of the cooperation forged during the 2002 drought. Power companies have been willing to take the financial hit and cut back on hydropower production, which drains lakes and does little good for downstream users.
The 2002 situation "caused us to work hard to figure out how to work together," said Don Newton, human resource manager for the Domtar paper plant on the Pee Dee River.
"We've managed our business to be prepared for the worst before it happened," Newton said.
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