--- attributes: ~ caption: 'The Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin supports many water uses and users, including municipal, industrial, and agricultural water supply; flood management; hydroelectric and thermoelectric energy generation; recreation; navigation; fisheries; and a rich diversity of environmental and ecological resources. In recent decades, water demands have risen rapidly in the Upper Chattahoochee River (due to urban growth) and Lower Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers (due to expansion of irrigated agriculture). At the same time, basin precipitation, soil moisture, and runoff are declining, creating challenging water sharing tradeoffs for the basin stakeholders.bf9fea17-be20-4fd8-bca3-1002e4f68d32 The historical water demand and supply trends are expected to continue in the coming decades. Climate assessments for 50 historical (1960-2009) and future years (2050-2099) based on a scenario of continued increases in emissions (A2) for the Seminole and all other ACF sub-basins47f6b2ff-a48f-4b48-899d-a901424bf5b2 show that soil moisture is projected to continue to decline in all months, especially during the crop growing season from April to October (bottom right). Mean monthly runoff decreases (up to 20%, not shown) are also projected throughout the year and especially during the wet season from November to May. The projected soil moisture and runoff shifts are even more significant in the extreme values of the respective distributions. In addition to reduced supplies, these projections imply higher water demands in the agricultural and other sectors, exacerbating management challenges. These challenges are reflected in the projected response of Lake Lanier, the main ACF regulation project, the levels of which are projected (for 2050-2099) to be lower, by as much as 15 feet, than its historical (1960-2009) levels, particularly during droughts (top right). Recognizing these critical management challenges, the ACF stakeholders are earnestly working to develop a sustainable and equitable management plan that balances economic, ecological, and social values.19d37361-7f68-4f49-a5d9-37d027933146 (Figure source: Georgia Water Resources Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology.47f6b2ff-a48f-4b48-899d-a901424bf5b2).' chapter: description: ~ display_name: 'Chapter 3: Water Resources' doi: 10.7930/J0G44N6T identifier: water-resources number: 3 report_identifier: nca3 sort_key: 30 title: Water Resources url: http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/sectors/water chapter_identifier: water-resources cited_by: [] contributors: - display_name: 'Scientist : Aris Georgakakos (Georgia Institute of Technology) ' href: http://52.38.26.42:8080/contributor/4730.yaml id: 4730 organization: country_code: US display_name: Georgia Institute of Technology identifier: georgia-institute-technology name: Georgia Institute of Technology organization_type_identifier: academic type: organization url: http://www.gatech.edu organization_uri: /organization/georgia-institute-technology person: display_name: Aris Georgakakos first_name: Aris id: 1006 last_name: Georgakakos middle_name: ~ orcid: 0000-0001-6606-5999 type: person url: http://www.ce.gatech.edu/people/faculty/401/overview person_id: 1006 person_uri: /person/1006 role_type_identifier: scientist uri: /contributor/4730 create_dt: 2013-11-08T16:03:00 description: 'The Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin supports many water uses and users, including municipal, industrial, and agricultural water supply; flood management; hydroelectric and thermoelectric energy generation; recreation; navigation; fisheries; and a rich diversity of environmental and ecological resources. In recent decades, water demands have risen rapidly in the Upper Chattahoochee River (due to urban growth) and Lower Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers (due to expansion of irrigated agriculture). At the same time, basin precipitation, soil moisture, and runoff are declining, creating challenging water sharing tradeoffs for the basin stakeholders.bf9fea17-be20-4fd8-bca3-1002e4f68d32 The historical water demand and supply trends are expected to continue in the coming decades. Climate assessments for 50 historical (1960-2009) and future years (2050-2099) based on a scenario of continued increases in emissions (A2) for the Seminole and all other ACF sub-basins47f6b2ff-a48f-4b48-899d-a901424bf5b2 show that soil moisture is projected to continue to decline in all months, especially during the crop growing season from April to October (bottom right). Mean monthly runoff decreases (up to 20%, not shown) are also projected throughout the year and especially during the wet season from November to May. The projected soil moisture and runoff shifts are even more significant in the extreme values of the respective distributions. In addition to reduced supplies, these projections imply higher water demands in the agricultural and other sectors, exacerbating management challenges. These challenges are reflected in the projected response of Lake Lanier, the main ACF regulation project, the levels of which are projected (for 2050-2099) to be lower, by as much as 15 feet, than its historical (1960-2009) levels, particularly during droughts (top right). Recognizing these critical management challenges, the ACF stakeholders are earnestly working to develop a sustainable and equitable management plan that balances economic, ecological, and social values.19d37361-7f68-4f49-a5d9-37d027933146 (Figure source: Georgia Water Resources Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology.47f6b2ff-a48f-4b48-899d-a901424bf5b2).' display_name: '3.12: Water Challenges in a Southeast River Basin' files: - display_name: Water_spotlight_on_water_management_V3.png file: 14/da/da318beaeef650e19fb507e100fd/Water_spotlight_on_water_management_V3.png href: http://data.globalchange.gov/assets/14/da/da318beaeef650e19fb507e100fd/Water_spotlight_on_water_management_V3.png identifier: 6d902e18-e5ff-4962-8c59-f8fd53331c38 landing_page: ~ location: ~ mime_type: image/png sha1: 8494ed6d886fd76d061e8881ba3133f50eec0f3b size: 1413246 thumbnail: 14/da/da318beaeef650e19fb507e100fd/.thumb-6d902e18-e5ff-4962-8c59-f8fd53331c38.png thumbnail_href: http://data.globalchange.gov/assets/14/da/da318beaeef650e19fb507e100fd/.thumb-6d902e18-e5ff-4962-8c59-f8fd53331c38.png type: file uri: /file/6d902e18-e5ff-4962-8c59-f8fd53331c38 url: http://data.globalchange.gov/assets/14/da/da318beaeef650e19fb507e100fd/Water_spotlight_on_water_management_V3.png href: http://52.38.26.42:8080/report/nca3/chapter/water-resources/figure/water-challenges-in-a-southeast-river-basin.yaml identifier: water-challenges-in-a-southeast-river-basin images: - attributes: ~ create_dt: 2013-11-08T16:03:00 description: ~ identifier: c55ea1c8-3cfa-4972-9c2f-d3027725ee4e lat_max: ~ lat_min: ~ lon_max: ~ lon_min: ~ position: ~ submission_dt: ~ time_end: ~ time_start: ~ title: 'Water Challenges in a Southeast River Basin - Left' url: ~ usage_limits: ~ - attributes: ~ create_dt: 2013-11-08T16:03:00 description: ~ identifier: 348d0292-0e8a-4a81-91f4-e64989a90b9b lat_max: ~ lat_min: ~ lon_max: ~ lon_min: ~ position: ~ submission_dt: ~ time_end: ~ time_start: ~ title: 'Water Challenges in a Southeast River Basin - Top Right' url: ~ usage_limits: ~ - attributes: ~ create_dt: 2013-11-08T16:03:00 description: ~ identifier: 17aa63ef-e952-4e8a-bbbe-69b11d4b0df5 lat_max: ~ lat_min: ~ lon_max: ~ lon_min: ~ position: ~ submission_dt: ~ time_end: ~ time_start: ~ title: 'Water Challenges in a Southeast River Basin - Bottom Right' url: ~ usage_limits: ~ kindred_figures: [] lat_max: ~ lat_min: ~ lon_max: ~ lon_min: ~ ordinal: 12 parents: [] references: - href: http://52.38.26.42:8080/reference/19d37361-7f68-4f49-a5d9-37d027933146.yaml uri: /reference/19d37361-7f68-4f49-a5d9-37d027933146 - href: http://52.38.26.42:8080/reference/47f6b2ff-a48f-4b48-899d-a901424bf5b2.yaml uri: /reference/47f6b2ff-a48f-4b48-899d-a901424bf5b2 - href: http://52.38.26.42:8080/reference/bf9fea17-be20-4fd8-bca3-1002e4f68d32.yaml uri: /reference/bf9fea17-be20-4fd8-bca3-1002e4f68d32 report: display_name: 'Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment' report_identifier: nca3 source_citation: 'Georgia Water Resources Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology.47f6b2ff-a48f-4b48-899d-a901424bf5b2' submission_dt: ~ time_end: ~ time_start: ~ title: Water Challenges in a Southeast River Basin type: figure uri: /report/nca3/chapter/water-resources/figure/water-challenges-in-a-southeast-river-basin url: http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/sectors/water/graphics/water-challenges-southeast-river-basin usage_limits: Copyright protected. 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