Risk Perceptions of Natural Hazards: Community Water System Managers in Pennsylvania and South Carolina

Managers of community water systems in South Carolina and the Susquehanna River Basin of Pennsylvania report more frequent drought emergencies than flood emergencies in the past five years. They expect to continue to have more problems with droughts than with floods in the next 10 years. Lightning strikes also cause extensive damage, especially in South Carolina. Water managers seem to base their expectations of future weather effects on their recent experiences with weather conditions. Most managers do not expect a flood emergency in the next 10 years and if there is a flood emergency, they do not expect financial, health, or water-supply problems. This sanguine view of flood emergencies seems surprising in light of the 20^th century experiences of devastating floods in both states. Formal risk assessments might support the view of the majority of managers who report that planning for flood emergencies is not adequate. The implication is that many water systems may be more vulnerable to flood emergencies than would be the case if risk-based decisionmaking were more widely practiced.