Drought Vulnerability Assessment SOW

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brings valuable experience to the team, including experience in assessing the nature and availability of data to conduct drought vulnerability assessment, and adapting methods to achieve best possible results with limited data. Dr. Wilhelmi has expert knowledge of, and experience with, using geographical information systems (GIS) to enhance drought vulnerability assessment. For Task 2, AMEC will present the State with a drought vulnerability approach that we have designed to readily meet FEMA requirements for drought vulnerability assessment and drought mitigation planning using best available data, yet is flexible and open enough to facilitate more sophisticated, quantitative drought vulnerability studies as part of this project and in future studies as better data from local drought plans and other sources becomes available. The first element of our approach is an assessment of state assets, the foremost concern of this project. Every part of Colorado is at risk from drought, although the impacts to state assets may vary from region to region, and by state department. Vulnerable state assets include, but are not necessarily limited to: * Agricultural & livestock businesses * Loss from fishery production * Losses to wildlife * Cost and losses to state parks * State buildings, and * Instream flows AMEC will all also assess vulnerability to the key sectors described above, namely: * Private, municipal and industrial water supply * Agriculture * Recreation * Environmental * Indirect societal effects * Power Qualitative aspects of the proposed drought vulnerability study will be applied where this approach will yield the most useful results or where limited quantitative data exists, and will generally utilize interviews to collect data on drought impacts and vulnerabilities from state agencies and across sectors. Quantitative elements of the vulnerability assessment will be conducted where such data exists or can be collected /developed, and may allow for estimates of drought exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. Where possible, this approach will utilize geographical information systems to generate new or process existing data. A goal here will be to assess the degree to which such an approach can improve the quality of the assessment and enhance its utility for planning by allowing for map (i.e., spatial) outputs. We anticipate use of GIS will both enhance this study and also enable us to make recommendations regarding its use, and data collection to support its use, in future drought studies. 3.3.1 (a) Comprehensive qualitative and quantitative vulnerability assessment examining exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity by sector and region within the state, including state