Adaptive drought management in a changing climate

In many water-stressed regions, water security is simultaneously threatened by increased drought frequency, long-term drying trends, and increasing water demand. As climate and demographic conditions change, droughts will have changing impacts on water security. This project will develop a new approach to drought management that accounts for long-term socio-environmental change. It will help planners identify when to adapt hydrological indicators most useful for drought management, enact short-term drought responses, and invest in long-term water supply infrastructure. It will provide guidance on the water governance reform needed to support adaptive management and the impacts of political feasibility on the effectiveness of drought management options. The team will partner with local researchers, water managers, and policymakers in Chile to apply the approach to the Maipo river basin, which supplies water to the city of Santiago and is facing its fourteenth consecutive year of drought.