South Carolina Current Drought Status

State Climate Office                 803-734-9100
NEWS RELEASE          DNR News 803-734-3815
August 15, 2008

Governor, DNR urge voluntary water conservation

Governor Continues to Urge Water Conservation.

South Carolina Drought Map for August 5, 2008

For previously issued drought statements see the archived status reports.

Table of all counties and drought status.
Drought Response Committee Meeting Sign-In sheet.

Discussion:

GOVERNOR ASKS CITIZENS TO HEED CALL FOR VOLUNTARY CONSERVATION

Columbia, S.C. - August 15, 2008 - Following his tour earlier this week of Pickens County in the state's most severely drought-stricken region, Governor Sanford again today urged citizens to take water conservation measures upon themselves and voluntarily conserve water in advance of any state requirement.

"Whether or not you're being impacted right now with any restrictions, it's important for people to know that this drought situation is very real and that folks in the Upstate, particularly farmers, are hurting right now," Gov. Sanford said. "To that end, I'd again urge all South Carolinians - particularly those in the Upstate - to take individual initiative to conserve water. I can't emphasize enough the importance of doing so now if we want to avoid restrictions later on."

On Wednesday, the governor asked that all but two of South Carolina's counties be declared federal disaster areas. Gov. Sanford noted in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer that more than 30 percent of this year's harvest of corn, hay and pasture crops have already been lost because of the drought.

The state Drought Response Committee has also asked residents in the 14-county extreme drought area to voluntarily conserve water, and some water systems imposed mandatory restrictions on certain water usage. The state Department of Natural Resources has also issued a number of tips for water conservation, which can be found at https://www.dnr.sc.gov/climate/sco/Drought/Drought_press/release_Jul21_2008.php.

For more drought information contact State Climatologist Hope Mizzell in Columbia at (803) 734-9568 or e-mail MizzellH@dnr.sc.gov.

Drought Status Table

Current Drought Status by County
Normal Incipient Moderate Severe Extreme
County
Status
County
Status
County
Status
County
Status
County
Status
ABBEVILLE
Extreme
AIKEN
Moderate
ALLENDALE
Moderate
ANDERSON
Extreme
BAMBERG
Moderate
BARNWELL
Moderate
BEAUFORT
Moderate
BERKELEY
Incipient
CALHOUN
Moderate
CHARLESTON
Normal
CHEROKEE
Extreme
CHESTER
Severe
CHESTERFIELD
Moderate
CLARENDON
Moderate
COLLETON
Moderate
DARLINGTON
Moderate
DILLON
Moderate
DORCHESTER
Incipient
EDGEFIELD
Extreme
FAIRFIELD
Severe
FLORENCE
Moderate
GEORGETOWN
Normal
GREENVILLE
Extreme
GREENWOOD
Extreme
HAMPTON
Moderate
HORRY
Incipient
JASPER
Moderate
KERSHAW
Severe
LANCASTER
Severe
LAURENS
Extreme
LEE
Moderate
LEXINGTON
Moderate
MARION
Moderate
MARLBORO
Moderate
MCCORMICK
Extreme
NEWBERRY
Extreme
OCONEE
Extreme
ORANGEBURG
Moderate
PICKENS
Extreme
RICHLAND
Moderate
SALUDA
Extreme
SPARTANBURG
Extreme
SUMTER
Moderate
UNION
Extreme
WILLIAMSBURG
Incipient
YORK
Severe


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Sign-In Sheet

SC Drought Response Committee Meeting, August 15, 2008
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Find out more about the State Climatology Office at https://www.dnr.sc.gov/climate/sco/ or by calling (803) 734-9100.