Water use by the electricity sector represents a significant portion of United States water budget (41% total freshwater withdrawals; 3% consumed). Sustainable management resources necessitates an accurate accounting all demands, including for generation electricity. Since 1985, Department Energy (DOE) Information Administration (EIA) has collected self-reported data on consumption and withdrawals from individual power generators. These represent only annual collection sector. Here, we...

Here, we assess current stress in the freshwater system based on best available data order to understand possible risks and vulnerabilities regional water resources sectors dependent freshwater. We present watershed-scale measures of surface supply for coterminous United States (US) using index (WaSSI) model which considers trends both demand. A snapshot contemporary annual demand is compared against different regimes, including average supplies, extreme-year projected future flows under a...

Fire regimes in sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems have been greatly altered across the western United States. Broad-scale invasion of non-native annual grasses, climate change, and human activities accelerated wildfire cycles, increased fire size severity, lengthened seasons many to point that current wildfire-management practices postfire restoration efforts cannot keep pace ameliorate ecological consequences ecosystem loss. The greatest impact uncharacteristically frequent is...

Background Wildfire simulation models are used to derive maps of burn probability (BP) based on fuels, weather, topography and ignition locations, BP key components wildfire risk assessments.Aims Few studies have compared with real-world fires evaluate their suitability for near-future assessment. Here, we evaluated a map the conterminous US large fire model FSim.Methods We observed wildfires from 2016 2022 across 128 regions representing similar regimes ('pyromes'). distribution burned...

Brenkert-Smith, H., J. R. Meldrum, P. A. Champ, and C. M. Barth. 2017. Where you stand depends on where sit: qualitative inquiry into notions of fire adaptation. Ecology Society 22(3):7. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09471-220307

Wildland–urban interface (WUI) homeowners who do not mitigate the wildfire risk on their properties impose a negative externality society. To reduce social costs of and incentivise to take action, cost sharing programs seek barriers that impede mitigation. Using survey data from WUI community in western Colorado two-stage decision framework, we examine residents’ willingness participate program for removing vegetation amount they are willing contribute removal. We find different factors...

Social science offers rich descriptions of relationships between wildland–urban interface residents and wildfire, but syntheses across different contexts might gloss over important differences. We investigate the potential extent such differences using data collected consistently in sixty-eight Colorado communities hierarchical modeling. find substantial variation responses for all considered measures, much which occurs at community-level. Our results show that many aspects with wildfire...

Research across a variety of risk domains finds that the perceptions professionals and public differ. Such perception gaps occur if understand individual factors differently or they aggregate into overall differently. The nature such divergences, whether based on objective inaccuracies differing perspectives, is important to understand. However, evidence typically pertains general, levels; details about mismatches between specific level faced by individuals their less available. We examine...

Climate change has the potential to exacerbate water availability concerns for thermal power plant cooling, which is responsible 41% of U.S. withdrawals. This analysis describes an initial link between climate, water, and electricity systems using National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Regional Deployment System (ReEDS) system capacity expansion model. Average surface projections from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 3 (CMIP3) data are applied rights available new generating in...

A climate driven, water resource systems model of the southwestern US was used to explore implications growth, extended drought, and warming on allocation among competing uses. The analysis focused benefits from alternative thermoelectric generation mixes, but included other uses, namely irrigated agriculture, municipal indoor outdoor use, environmental inter-state compact requirements. model, referred as WEAP-SW, developed Water Evaluation Planning (WEAP) platform, is scenario-based forward...

Downscaled climate models provide projections of how change may exacerbate the local impacts natural hazards. The extent to which people facing exacerbated hazard conditions understand or respond climate-related changes hazards has been largely overlooked. In this article, we examine relationships among beliefs, environmental and mitigation actions in context wildfire, a projected be intensified by change. We find that survey respondents are situated across continuum between being...

Fire science emphasizes that mitigation actions on residential property, including structural hardening and maintaining defensible space, can reduce the risk of wildfire at a home. Accordingly, rich body social literature investigates determinants behaviors residents living in fire-prone areas. Here, we investigate relationships among hazards, residents’ perceptions, conditions associated with using combination simulated conditions, household survey responses, professionally assessed parcel...

Parcel-level risk (PLR) describes how wildfire varies from home to based on characteristics that relate likely fire behavior, the susceptibility of homes fire, and ability firefighters safely access properties. Here, we describe WiRē Rapid Assessment (RA), a parcel-level rapid assessment tool designed evaluate PLR with small set measures for all in community. We investigate relationship between 2019 RA data collected Columbine Lake community Grand County, Colorado, whether assessed were...

Recent studies on the relationship between thermoelectric cooling and water resources have been made at coarse geographic resolution do not adequately evaluate localized impacts specific rivers bodies. We present application of an integrated electricity generation–water planning model Apalachicola/Chattahoochee/Flint (ACF) Alabama–Coosa–Tallapoosa (ACT) based regional energy deployment system (ReEDS) evaluation (WEAP) system. A future scenario that includes a growing population warmer, drier...

This letter documents the development and validation of a climate-driven, southwestern-US-wide water resources planning model that is being used to explore implications extended drought climate warming on allocation among competing uses. These uses include separate accounting for irrigated agriculture; municipal indoor use based local population per-capita consumption; climate-driven outdoor turf amenity watering; thermoelectric cooling. The simulates natural managed flows rivers throughout...

Forested landscapes in the Western United States are subject to growing size and severity of wildfires, part due historical management strategies focusing on wildfire suppression. Forest restoration treatments fuels reductions, including thinning prescribed burning, can reduce frequency intensity wildfires. Extensive treatment efforts underway across many areas Southwestern States, New Mexico. The tradeoff between amenity values provided by forested risk associated with is becoming...