Figure 17.12: A Southeast River Basin Under Stress
Figure 17.12: The Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin in Georgia exemplifies a place where many water uses are in conflict, and future climate change is expected to exacerbate this conflict.1 The basin drains 19,600 square miles in three states and supplies water for multiple, often competing, uses, including irrigation, drinking water and other municipal uses, power plant cooling, navigation, hydropower, recreation, and ecosystems. Under future climate change, this basin is likely to experience more severe water supply shortages, more frequent emptying of reservoirs, violation of environmental flow requirements (with possible impacts to fisheries at the mouth of the Apalachicola), less energy generation, and more competition for remaining water. Adaptation options include changes in reservoir storage and release procedures and possible phased expansion of reservoir capacity.1,2,3 Additional adaptation options could include water conservation and demand management. (Figure source: Georgakakos et al. 20101).
