ADECA's Office of Water Resources administers programs for river basin management, river assessment, water supply assistance, water conservation, flood mapping, the National Flood Insurance Program and water resources development. Further, OWR serves as the state liaison with federal agencies on major water resources related projects and conducts any special studies on instream flow needs as well as administering environmental education and outreach programs to increase awareness of Alabama’s water resources.
Mission Statement
The Division plans, coordinates, develops and manages Alabama's water resources, both ground and surface water, in a manner that is in the best interest of the state. This includes recommending policies and legislation, conducting technical studies, implementing and participating in programs and projects and actively representing Alabama's intra and interstate water resource interests.
News / Announcements
Drought Declaration
Click here for the latest drought declaration.
Estimated 2015 Water Use and Surface Water Availability in Alabama Report Released
The report contains OWR’s estimation of water use (both withdrawals and net consumption) for 2015, estimates of streamflows for subbasins for both the 2010 and 2015 time periods, and estimates of relative net demand (RND) for both 2010 and 2015.
This Report consists of five primary elements:
- Estimation of water withdrawals by source of supply, water-use sector, county, and hydrologic subregion and subbasin for the State of Alabama in eight sectors that include public supply, residential, irrigation, livestock, aquaculture, industrial, mining, and thermoelectric power;
- A comparison of the water withdrawals totals and for each sector between 2010 and 2015;
- A comparison of the precipitation in Alabama for counties and subbasins between 2010 and 2015;
- An estimate of monthly and annual streamflows for 2010 and 2015 for each of Alabama’s 53 subbasins; and
- An assessment of relative net demands (RND) for 2010 and 2015.
The Report contains a main report section and 11 appendices that provide a complete discussion of all methodologies used for the development of this information and resulting data tables, charts, and maps. Additional information and downloadable files are located here.
Alabama Drought Management Plan Revision Released
OWR has, in coordination with the Alabama Drought Assessment and Planning Team (ADAPT) and the Alabama Water Resources Commission (AWRC), has revised the Alabama Drought Management Plan. Key improvement areas included in the revision are:
- Changes to ADAPT and MIG operational procedures
- Requirement for local public water system (PWS) drought plans
- Requirement for reporting of drought restrictions
- Discussion of reservoir system drought operations
- Improvement of the US Drought monitor input process
- Providing additional flexibility in drought declarations by OWR
- Discussion of water conservation and efficiency programs and initiatives
For more details, click here. To download a copy of the 2018 revision to the Alabama Drought Management Plan, click here.
2017 OWR Surface Water Assessment Report
The 2017 OWR Surface Water Assessment Report is available for download. This report contains OWR’s assessment of water use (both withdrawals and net consumption) for the 2010 and 2040 time periods, estimates of streamflows for subbasins throughout Alabama, and a comparison of water use and streamflows.
Click here to read the report and get more information.