Adaptive regional water allocation strategies in the Republic of Korea: A focus on drought damage sensitivity

Study region Geum, Yeongsan, and Seomjin River basins (Republic of Korea). Study focus The research develops a framework for allocating water usage during severe drought or supply-constrained conditions by assigning differentiated reduction ratios to domestic, agricultural, and industrial sectors. The framework is built on drought damage sensitivity, using relative drought damage estimates to determine specific water usage reductions that optimize equity and efficiency. New hydrological insights from the region The study reveals regional and sectoral differences in drought damage sensitivity, with modeled drought damage being least sensitive to changes in domestic water usage and most sensitive to changes in industrial water usage. The proposed scenarios allow maximum reductions of 30%, 50%, and 60% in domestic, agricultural, and industrial water usage, respectively, under severe drought conditions. These findings suggest that region-specific water supply adjustment criteria could support more adaptive drought responses than uniform national guidelines that do not account for regional characteristics.