The purpose of the drought meeting is to evaluate the drought status statewide. The committee will review climatic data, streamflow and lake level data, and drought impacts. Local response to the on-going drought will also be reviewed to determine if additional actions are needed to insure sustainable water supplies.
If you have any questions, please contact me at 803-734-9568 or email me at mizzellh@dnr.sc.gov.
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 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
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 29, 2008 Sign-In sheet | |
---|---|
Name & Agency | Name & Agency |
Greg Henderson Hal Beard - SCDNR Fisheries Bill Payne - Savannah River Nucleur Solutions Chris Sowell Warren Harris - Town of Salem Bobby Brock - Marlboro Water Co. Scott Holland - Duke Energy John Baker - International Paper Tom Couch - City Of Camden Elbert Warren - Darlington County W&SA John Westcott - Spartanburg Water Dennis Chastain - Drought Committee Bill Stroud - Ft. Mill Brad Powers - Drought Committee Andrew Wachob - SCDNR George Hatcher - Gov Office Anthena Strickland - PDRC - Domtar Paper Sue G. Schneider - Spartanburg Water Reg Williams - Drought Committee Francis M. Tubolino - SCEMD Lynn Stovall - Greenville Water System Scott Willer - Anderson Regional Water Kirstin Dow - USC - Department of Geography Larry Bowling Fred Boatwright - Orangeburg DPU Eric Odom - Orangeburg DPU |
Louvenia Morrison - National Weather Service Gregory Lambouty - National Weather Service David Glenn - National Weather Service Jerry Lindeman CFS Joey Holleman - The State Marion Rizer - CS&WCD Chris Bickley - Lowcounty 606 Steve Hammond Mark Bruce David Merryman Tom Clements - Friends of the Earth Bob Knight - Greenville Water System Jim Shoemaker - Greenville Water System Andy Fairey - Drought Committee Bill Taylor - Town of Cheraw Greg Lucas - SCDNR Pickens Williams - Drought Committee Theron Dewitt - Conservation District Stuart Ames - Drought Committee Mickael McShnane - DNR Chairman Monica Linnenlink - SCDNR Darryl Jones - Forestry Commission Evelyn Johnson - SCDNR Hope Mizzell - SCDNR Steven J. de Kozlowski - SCDNR |
Find out more about the State Climatology Office at https://www.dnr.sc.gov/climate/sco/ or by calling (803) 734-9100.