SPAS analysis of the record breaking rainfall associated with Hurricane Joaquin over South Carolina and specifically the Saluda River Basin was completed as input to hydrologic modeling. AWA’s information provided detailed, gridded rainfall accumulation data at 5-moute time steps and the annual exceedance probability of those accumulations over various times scales on the same grid locations. This information was evaluated against normal conditions as well as antecedent conditions over the previous several years to understand operational requirements in the overall context of the conditions prior to the event. This included quantifying the rarity of the rainfall, understand the timing of the rainfall for rain-runoff simulations in support of decisions applied to avert flooding in comparison to operating rules. This information was provided to support the legal defense and arguments.
