For previously issued drought statements see the archived status reports.
Table of all counties and drought status.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.
Current Drought Status by County | ||||
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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 |
SC Drought Response Committee Meeting, August 15, 2008 Sign-In sheet | |
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Name & Agency | Name & Agency |
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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.