1. An assessment of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia water managers’ perceptions, needs, and capacity to integrate climate information into decision making December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga. Jessica Bolson University of Florida, Southeast Climate Consortium

2. Assessment Projects 2 SARP Projects – Martinez et al. Mid to large size water managers throughout Florida, Alabama, and Georgia – Srivastava et al. Small water managers in ACF Basin SECC Collaborators: – Norman Breuer, Pam Knox, Tatiana Borisova December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga.

3. - Objectives of assessment projects December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga. Online survey of water managers in Al., Ga., Fl. 1. Forecast use & information needs 2. Awareness of weather & climate information 3. Barriers and bridges to using information 4. Testing indicators of adaptive capacity

4. Background – Diverse water systems & audience: Management structures and institutions Water sources Geography Stakeholders Resources December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga.

5. AND… Climate December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga. Regional Water Management Challenges Uncertain supply/demand Management Constraints High-stakes decisions Regulations Economics Trans-boundary issues

6. Develop web-based survey Distribute survey to water managers in Al., Fl., and Ga. Data and cluster analysis of survey results Ex. Forecast users despite barriers Ex. Adaptive responses to past events Semi- structured interviews Follow up on survey results of interest to team Cross state analysis of results Identify barriers and bridges for adaptation in ACF Research Approach Region- and sector-specific assessment of stakeholders is essential to providing useful and relevant forecasts and decision support Ongoing iterative feedback using tools/forecasts currently under development December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga.

7. Survey dissemination statistics Surveys successfully emailed Surveys completedResponse rate 838687.88% December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga.

8. Who responded to the online survey December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga.

9. Rate the importance of these drivers on your system December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga.

10. What decisions are being made? At what time scales? December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga.

11. Rate your vulnerability to… December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga.

12. Awareness of sources of information December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga.

13. Forecast (SCF) Awareness & Use December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga.

14. Barriers and bridges to using information December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga.

15. Awareness of climate change sources December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga.

16. Familiarity with products across system size December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga.

17. How do you use SCFs? December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga.

18. What products are wanted? December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga.

19. December 2, 2011 NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga.

20. Assessment objective #4 : December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga. Adaptive response to cope with weather and or climate events Use of climate forecasts and climate information Interactions with climate researchers Size, infrastructure, and operating budget Test theorized indicators of adaptive capacity: (Eakin and Lemos, 2006) Networks and social capital Information and technology Material resources and infrastructure 4 indicators of adaptive capacity operationalized by

21. Past adaptations and interactions with climate researchers December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga.

22. Past adaptations and size of system December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga. Past adaptations and system budget

23. December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga. Past adaptations and use of SCF

24. Take homes…so far Most wanted list includes seasonal variability products specific to watershed Extreme events, especially drought concerns managers Decisions differ in nature across time scales Many reasons for limited forecast use, the most common was difficulty understanding them Awareness of climate products is limited, communication needs improvement Some theorized indicators of adaptive capacity may not be proven empirically, however use of SCF may be!!! December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga.

25. Next steps: Survey designed  Survey Tested  IRB approval  Survey distribution  Interviews Coding open ended questions results Statistical analysis of results Concurrent tool development December 2, 2011 NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga.

26. Thank you Contact info: jbolson@rsmas.miami.edu, 305-421-4874jbolson@rsmas.miami.edu December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga.

27. Drought Response December 2, 2011NIDIS Meeting, Buford, Ga. Most effective drought responses taken: implement water restrictions held additional water in storage drought action plan policy change or rule making increase water prices establish conservation program advertised to increase conservation awareness Least effective drought responses taken: reduce water permit quantity reduce water supply to ag users reduce water to environmental flows