A Catawba-Wateree River Case Study
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Clemson University TigerPrints All Theses Theses May 2020 What Elements and Preconditions Are Necessary for a Viable, Adaptive Compact? A Catawba-Wateree River Case Study Brennan Williams Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses Recommended Citation Williams, Brennan, "What Elements and Preconditions Are Necessary for a Viable, Adaptive Compact? A Catawba-Wateree River Case Study" (2020). All Theses. 3342. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/3342 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WHAT ELEMENTS AND PRECONDITIONS ARE NECESSARY FOR A VIABLE, ADAPTIVE COMPACT? A CATAWBA-WATEREE RIVER CASE STUDY A Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of City and Regional Planning by Brennan Thomas Williams May 2020 Accepted by: Dr. Caitlin Dyckman, Committee Chair Dr. Barry Nocks Dr. Timothy Green 1 ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to determine the elements and preconditions necessary for a viable, adaptive water compact particularly with climate change. Legal and scientific scholars generally agree interstate water compacts are the solution to transboundary water resource governance. Earlier water compacts in the west tend to resolve the issue of water allocation (McCormick, 1994). This research suggests which elements are necessary for a viable interstate that addresses climate change. The elements derive from scholarly writings. Then, using semi-structured interviews, I answer whether the elements are present in a setting with a contentious history over an integral water resource between two states. Namely, the Catawba-Wateree River between North Carolina and South Carolina. After conducting interviews, the results provide insight into the obstacles to essential elements. Finally, I discuss the implications of the compact’s absence and how alternative arrangements compare to a compact. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE PAGE ................................................................................................................ i ABSTRACT................................................................................................................. ii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ............................................................................. v CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 Research Questions.................................................................................................. 2 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................... 4 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 4 Surface Water Issues................................................................................................ 4 Interstate Water Resource Management Institutions ................................................. 7 Equitable apportionment ..................................................................................... 7 Interstate compacts .............................................................................................. 8 Congressional apportionment .............................................................................. 9 Water Compacts .................................................................................................... 10 Water compact history ...................................................................................... 10 Water compact benefits ..................................................................................... 11 Water compact criticism .................................................................................... 13 Pre-conditions Necessary for States to Compact Together...................................... 14 Successful Compact Elements ............................................................................... 16 Clearly defined natural hydrological boundaries ................................................ 17 Commissions .................................................................................................... 20 Apportionment rules ......................................................................................... 23 Conflict resolution ............................................................................................ 26 Interagency coordination, public participation, and collaboration ...................... 29 Summary ............................................................................................................... 31 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ................................................................... 33 Site Selection ......................................................................................................... 34 Data Collection Methods ....................................................................................... 39 iii Table of Contents (Continued) Page Data Analysis Methods .......................................................................................... 45 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS .................................................................................. 48 Issues, Constraints, and Successes Associated with the Basin ................................ 48 Elements Present ................................................................................................... 54 Strong, adaptive commission ............................................................................. 54 Flexible apportionment rules ............................................................................. 56 Conflict resolution ............................................................................................ 63 Interagency coordination ................................................................................... 65 Public participation ........................................................................................... 67 Summary of the elements present and their implications ................................... 70 Viability of a Compact ........................................................................................... 72 CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION .............................................................................. 73 Comparison Between the Literature Review and the Results .................................. 73 Satisfying necessary pre-conditions for agreements ........................................... 73 Successful compact elements ............................................................................ 75 General Observations and Significance of the Results ............................................ 81 Discussion of the Research Questions .................................................................... 88 Limitations and Bias .............................................................................................. 99 CHAPTER SIX: REFLECTIONS ............................................................................ 103 CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSIONS ..................................................................... 105 Conclusions ......................................................................................................... 105 Recommendations ............................................................................................... 105 Suggestions for Future Research .......................................................................... 107 APPENDIX: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ................................................................ 109 WORKS CITED ...................................................................................................... 112 iv LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table Page Table 1: Benefits and criticisms of water compacts .................................................. 13 Table 2: Characteristics affecting the likelihood of parties to compact ...................... 16 Table 3: Elements of successful water compacts....................................................... 17 Table 4 Community stakeholder categories and participants .................................... 40 Table 5: Arc of semistructured interview questions .................................................. 44 Table 6: Issues and constraints associated with the Catawba-Wateree River basin ................................................................................................. 49 Table 7: Reservoir levels .......................................................................................... 57 Table 8: Recreational flow schedule ......................................................................... 59 Table 9: Minimum continuous flow schedule ........................................................... 60 Table 10 Participants’ comments about the necessary preconditions for a successful water compact and their implications ......................................... 71 Table 11 FERC relicensing and compact benefits comparison ................................... 92 Table 12: How the CRA compares to a compact ........................................................ 98 Table 13: Potential participants not comfortable