The Georgia Operator Features Drought Modeling for NTMWD

Hydrologist Jeremy Rice and Water/Wastewater Master Planner Paula Feldman wrote the cover story on drought planning for the Spring issue of The Georgia Operator, the magazine of the Georgia Association of Water Professionals.

The article, “Tis the Season: Modeling and Adopting Seasonal Drought Triggers,” examines the North Texas Municipal Water District’s updating of their drought contingency plan. Modeling work by Freese and Nichols helped District leaders decide what triggers should activate outdoor water use restrictions. The District was able to determine that it would be more effective to use restrictions more often during the hottest months, April-October, and less often in November-March.

“The key to overall adoption of new seasonal triggers was to present the modeling results to the District and its customers,” the article says.

Also, because the work followed a schedule agreed to early in the project, the District’s board of directors was able to approve the new plan early enough for customer cities to meet their regulatory deadline.

“One of the keys to success for the entire project was buy-in from the District and its customers throughout the update,” the article notes.

Read “Tis the Season: Modeling and Adopting Seasonal Drought Triggers“