Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID TWRI-Fei-FY25

The Vulnerability to Drought, Wildfire, and Climate Change and the Impact of Risk Aversion on the Decision-Making in the South Portion of the Ogallala Aquifer

Institute: Texas
USGS Grant Number:
Year Established: 2024 Start Date: 2025-02-01 End Date: 2028-01-31
Total Federal Funds: $310,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $310,000

Principal Investigators: Chengcheng Fei

Project Summary: Many communities face water scarcity, increased risk of drought and wildfires, and rapidly growing water demand. Drought and wildfire hazards can cause billion-dollar losses without good adaptation strategies and worsen under climate change. In this project, we will evaluate the vulnerability of agricultural and other water-use sectors to droughts and wildfires, the impacts of adaptation strategies on reducing the vulnerability to droughts and wildfires with and without climate change, and the impacts of risk aversion on strategy decisions and vulnerability reduction in the southern portion of Ogallala Aquifer (SOA) Region. We will simulate water availability using SWAT and MODFLOW and evaluate the vulnerability to drought and wildfires using a hydro-socioeconomic model with and without risk aversion concerns under climate change. The project will provide an important tool to understand the vulnerability and management strategies and risk aversion on vulnerability reduction.